King Arthur's Knights 3: Of Kings and Princes - 1st Edition
by Deliverer
Summary: Back at Worcestershire, things are heating up. Uriens and Nentres are on campus. Galehaut sees opportunity in their arrival that doesn't bode well for Arthur. Meanwhile a Saracen king brings his three sons to enroll when tensions are high, arousing suspicion among students. Oh, and Dinadan might have a solution to his goblin problem. If he can convince the jousting team to help.
1. Soredamer's Clique

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 _ **King Arthur's Knights**_

Book 3: Of Kings and Princes

 _Act 1: The Loophole_

Soredamer's Clique

I look back on our early days together, still in Worcestershire, and I wish so much that things hadn't happened like they had. I wish I'd never hated them and that they'd never hated me. I wish we had had the guts to just be who we really were deep inside. In Worcestershire, everyone hid. Hid behind labels, hid behind reputation, hid for fear, hid for love, hid for uncertainty… There is so much that could have been avoided if we'd just been true to ourselves. But then maybe if things had gone differently, we wouldn't have come together. Of course maybe that would have been better in the long run… Maybe then they wouldn't be gone…

Past

"So Unc, any particular reason you're hanging around me instead of getting to know your nephews?" Soredamor questioned Arthur, who'd attached himself to her not long ago for who knew what reason. Not that she was complaining. It was about time she got to spend some quality time with him. Even back when he'd been a nobody she'd kind of pitied him and had wanted to try and reach out, but to do so would've been social suicide. Yeah it was selfish, but in Worcestershire you couldn't really afford to be an outcast or a loner. For a long time, the unspoken policy had been to stomp out the weak so the strong could thrive. All the way up until Pellinore took over the role of principal it had been dog eat dog. If you were alone with no one to lean on or back you up? Enough said. As much as she would've liked to offer him someone to lean on, it wasn't worth the risk. He was the jousting team's favorite target, and when _those_ wolves sank their teeth into a kill? Gods help anyone who tried to take it away.

She glanced over at her uncle, waiting for his response. Now she had an excuse to reach out to him. He was her blood relative and the king, so this time she had padding for when she went in to snatch away the jousting team's chew toy. Arthur hadn't seemed to have heard her. "Unc?" she repeated.

"Huh? Oh, no, just… just wanted to spend a bit of time with _you_. I already know your brothers better than I ever wanted to," Arthur replied, snapping out of his thoughts and grimacing. He frowned. "And please don't call me Unc or Uncle."

"Get used to it, Unc," she teased, grinning and gently nudging him. He grimaced then smiled hopelessly, shaking his head. "You and Gawain seem to get along," she pointed out a bit cautiously. She couldn't say she was surprised. Yeah Gawain was Lancelot's right-hand man, and more often than not he was right at the guy's side even during Lance's meanest moments, but despite appearances and the occasional enforcing remark, he was nothing like him. You were honestly hard pressed to find two more opposite temperaments. It would only have been a matter of time before Gawain had reached out to Arthur, even if the whole king thing hadn't happened.

"Yeah… But Gawain's always with Lancelot and me and Lance _don't_ get along," Arthur replied. "Why does your brother even hang out with that creep? The more I talk to him the more unlikely it seems. I mean Lancelot's a total jerk, and Gawain… I don't even know what to make of him anymore. I always thought he was one of Lance's yes-men then all of this happened and just… I guess it's complicated with me and him right now. I don't like not knowing where people stand. It freaks me out. I mean Lance is this violent loser, and as it turns out, Gawain _isn't_. Which believe me, was news to me."

"He's… good at blending in," Soredamer replied, thinking over her choice of words. That was about the best she could come up with. "Gawain's always been good at making you think he's one thing while actually being the total opposite. Believe it or not, it's only in the last year or so that he's begun to show off the kind of person he really is."

"Why?" Arthur asked.

"I guess… maybe he just got tired of living a lie?" Soredamer answered. "I remember once when Lancelot got his hands on Degore after something… not okay that Degore said to him. Lance pinned the guy down after school in the ruins, along with the rest of the jousting team, and they laid a beatdown on him that he won't ever forget. Tristan notwithstanding. He kind of just stood back and watched with Bedivere. Neither of them were overly impressed. Anyway, the jocks left him bloodied, bruised, and drifting in and out of consciousness… I think that maybe that's when things changed for Gawain… I think that's when he stopped being just the goon at Lancelot's right hand. He was guilt-stricken. He didn't help Degore, but he didn't really attack him either. He didn't goad Lancelot on or encourage him, and where Tristan and Bedivere just turned a blind eye yet again, Gawain only followed the others far enough away from the scene to alleviate suspicion before going back for Degore. He cleaned him up and tended him until he was strong enough for my brother to feel comfortable moving him back to the campus for first aid. I guess seeing how badly they'd hurt Degore finally forced him to stop turning a blind eye to things. Forced him to start to show more of himself and who he was."

"Bet _Lancelot_ was pleased," Arthur bitterly and sarcastically remarked, rolling his eyes.

She giggled. "You should have heard the screaming match those two had after the fact. Lancelot and the others saw Gawain helping Degore back. They were totally bowled over. They didn't even know what to think. Gawain paused only long enough to glare at them and make sure they didn't try to come after him and Degore, then headed on without even saying a word to any of them. Not even when Lancelot called him. I'm pretty sure Tristan was shamed into leaving when he witnessed that, because it was only like three seconds before he just turned and walked away from the others with his head hung. Bedivere stuck around, but he seemed really, really uncomfortable. And Bohort? Poor Bors was guilted so badly that he started to cry and quickly shuffled off to hide so no one would see. I have a suspicion that's when he started _his_ turnaround too. You know, from yes-man to individual."

Her smile fell and she looked a bit more solemn. Arthur paused, looking concerned. "Sora?" he asked.

She was quiet, thinking, then looked solemnly at him. "When Gawain came back out, Lancelot confronted him and they got into an argument that escalated until the others left them screaming at each other. Gawain told Lancelot that that was who he was, and if Lance didn't like it then he should just be done with him. He told Lance he was through enabling him. Lancelot tried to threaten him. That's when he told Lancelot he wasn't scared of him and never had been. That he'd stuck around because he'd dared try and believe there was some good in him and had wanted to help bring it out. He said that he still believed there was good in him, and even if Lance cast him out he wouldn't stop believing as much. He said that sticking around obviously wasn't helping either one of them. Lancelot was only dragging him down, he wasn't lifting Lancelot up, and my brother felt so guilty about that. Like he'd failed in the worst way. He even apologized to Lance, Artie. _Apologized_ to him. For not being good enough to help him! Then he told him he'd be there for him still, and if Lance ever needed him he knew where to find him. He just wouldn't be hanging out with him regularly anymore. He couldn't because he felt it was just making Lance worse and it was definitely a bad influence on him too. Then he left Lancelot absolutely livid, shouting and roaring after him… But I don't think it was really anger… I think the anger was a mask for heartbreak and devastation. Not like heartbreak when you dump somebody or get dumped, but heartbreak even worse. Like you've just lost the best and only true friend you ever had, and you don't know if you'll ever get him back. It absolutely _wrecked_ Lancelot… I know because it wrecked my brother too…"

Lancelot had actually toned things down a fair bit after that, she noted to herself. She guessed the break had been good for her brother and the big man on campus. Arthur was quiet. He wasn't sure what to say. Part of him felt like Lancelot totally deserved it and cheered Gawain for his stepping up… Another part he'd rather not acknowledge felt kind of sorry for the both of them…

"Anyway, enough of that depressing crap. So, if you're not up to hanging with my brothers—and by brothers I mean Gawain, because it's obvious you'd rather be _anywhere_ but where the rest of them are—then what about your friends?" Soredamor asked.

"Maybe friends," Arthur corrected, shutting down a bit at having them directly called friends. Sure he guessed he considered them that, kind of, but having someone else say it made it seem too good to be true, and thus untrustworthy. Yeah, he had issues with the 'f' word. Soredamer smirked, rolling her eyes. "Balin and Balan are hotboxing, Alymere and Dagonet are off playing pranks and probably getting themselves beat up, Dinadan is off flirting with everything on two legs, no clue where Kay or Cador are, Degore is with Lucan, Bedivere, and Griflet, and honestly I have no honest idea where I stand with Lucan and Bedivere at this point anyway. Griflet and Degore and me get along pretty well, but it's sort of tougher to tell with Lucan and Bedivere. Not sure if Bedivere genuinely likes me or just tolerates me because I'm Kay's brother. And Lucan? Enough said," Arthur replied.

"Yeah. He's not really one to open up very easily," Soredamor said. "Like you." Arthur pretended not to hear that. "What about Brunor and Daniel?"

"Brunor's a jock, pretty sure the only reason he didn't hone in on me at the castle was because his brothers were there, and it was my home turf anyway. And Daniel? Uh, I kind of forgot all about him," Arthur sheepishly replied. "But-but he's probably with Sagramore!"

"Not if Sagramore's with the jocks he's not," Soredamor replied. "Why don't you look for him? Maybe Cador and Kay too. We can all hang out. Unless you want it to just be you and a bunch of girls you don't know. And my guy. And maybe some of their guys."

"Well, I do have to start looking for potential queen's," Arthur replied, smirking jokingly.

"'Gwen, oh Gwen, I've always loved you'," Soredamor quoted dramatically, hand to the forehead and all. Arthur went bright red. She laughed, lowering her hand. "You've chosen your queen, Artie."

"Yeah, well that means crap all if she doesn't like me back," Arthur grumbled, a bit put out now.

"Okay, okay, dropping the topic. But seriously. Daniel could use the attention," Soredamor said. "Or, since we're meeting up with my girlfriends and my Greek fiancé, you could just try and get along with said fiancé."

"Who _is_ said fiancé?" Arthur asked, frowning to hear his niece was engaged. Chalk another one up to the family record. Seriously, was Cador the only one of them who'd had sense? Well, Uther aside he guessed.

"He's the Byzantine Emperor Alexander," Soredamor answered. "You know, Greek King, part of the student council?"

"Oh, him," Arthur replied, grimacing. He wasn't big on that idea. Alisander could care less about him, he knew. "I mean… I guess I could find Daniel, but I'm not sure where I stand with _him_ either."

"Grab him and see. You'll never know if you don't give people a chance, Arthur. Oh, Morgan might show up with Accolon of Gaul. You know, the guy she's totally cheating on her husband for?" Soredamor said.

"Like I wanna encourage Morgan's disloyalty," Arthur replied, grimacing. "I'm no friend of Uriens', but that's low. Of course, he cheated on her after, so…"

"Maybe your presence will force Accolon to behave," Soredamor teased. "Yvain and Ywain will probably be tagging along with her for a bit before their classes start, so hey, the pool of people you know that'll be there is growing at least. Anyway, little Yvain could probably use the buffer between him and Morgan, the poor thing. Bigger crowd than you're used to, most of them people you don't know that great, but having Daniel along might help you and him both deal with it. Not sure how well you'd fare leaping feet first into a pile of people you barely know, say for a couple, without some kind of backup."

"Okay, okay, we can check the library and see if Daniel's there," Arthur relented.

"Great," Soredamor said. "Wouldn't kill you to learn that reaching out to people doesn't always backfire anyway."

"Not you too," Arthur groaned.

"You're like the anti-socialite of the whole school," she poked, grinning. "Everyone thinks so. Time to prove them wrong. Like you've been proving them wrong about your being useless."

"You made your point," he grumbled.

"Good. Mission accomplished," she answered.

KAK

Arthur and Soredamer approached the library and entered it quietly, looking around. Daniel was nowhere to be seen, but this building was large. Soredamer prompted Arthur to start searching. Arthur grimaced but nodded, leaving his niece by the door while scouting out the library. He found Daniel buried in the far back by himself, reading through a tome looking a little… alone, for lack of better word. Like, he wasn't happy but wasn't unhappy? Just… the guy was alone and looked like he was feeling it too. Like it was bothering him, but not depressing him? It was hard to explain.

"Uh h-hey, um, D-Daniel?" Arthur said, attempting to be confident and failing epically.

Daniel glanced quickly up and looked puzzled to see Arthur there. "Uh, Arthur?" Daniel replied. "Hi?"

"Uh, hi… So… Crazy couple weeks, huh?" Arthur awkwardly said.

Daniel stared at him dubiously, trying to figure out what he was doing here. Finally, he closed his book, silently reading the king. "Yeah. I guess," he eventually, cautiously, answered.

There was a long, uncomfortable silence between them that dragged on too long. "Um… wanna hang out with me and my niece and some of her friends?" Arthur soon asked, flushing and looking down.

Daniel was quiet, staring. "You… want to hang out? With me?" he soon replied.

Arthur shifted uneasily and took a breath. "Yeah," he answered, looking up at Daniel again.

Daniel stared. "Uh… okay? Y-yeah, yeah sure. Let's-let's hang out," he said, standing up though still seeming a bit guarded and uncertain of what to make of this.

"Okay," Arthur said, perking up a bit.

"Okay," Daniel said. Another awkward pause. "Lead the way," Daniel finally said.

"Oh! Yeah, right, that. Um, come on," Arthur said, heading off. Daniel came up alongside him, following curiously.

"Hi Daniel," Soredamer greeted as they approached her, smiling at him.

"Uh, hey," Daniel murmured, glancing shyly down.

"So, we ready?" she asked, looking them both over.

"Yeah. Guess so," Arthur replied. Daniel nodded.

"Great! Let's go before they figure we're not coming," Soredamor said, heading cheerily off. Arthur and Daniel exchanged uneasy looks and followed.

KAK

So, there they were. Hanging with Soredamer and her friends. Yep. Nothing awkward about it at all. "Your uncle bring his own date?" Alisander asked, staring at Daniel and Arthur. Daniel and Arthur both flushed.

"Behave," Soredamor chastised, frowning at him.

"Hey, sorry. Just kidding," Alexander said, putting up his hands in surrender.

"How about we _not_ pretend we're the jousting team, huh?" a boy that looked kind of edgy goth said as he approached, frowning at Alexander. Arthur was torn on whether to be appalled at the sleeveless dark shirt, or impressed the guy actually pulled it off. The boy turned to Arthur and Daniel. "Soredamer didn't mention we'd have… extras. Hey. I'm Accolon of Gaul."

"Oh, I know," Arthur replied, frowning at him. "Morgan can't stop boasting up how she plays you and Uriens for saps. Boy toys. Whichever term you'd prefer." Accolon winced, glancing away and flushing a bit.

"Never mind him. We're pleased to meet you," Daniel said.

"Doesn't seem like it," Accolon answered slightly begrudgingly, though the glance he gave Arthur looked... guilty. "Might want to speak for yourself instead of the both of you… guy."

"Daniel," Daniel murmured, blushing and bowing his head sheepishly.

"What, you expected a slap on the back?" Arthur asked Accolon.

"Behave," Soredamor hissed at Arthur. "If this is how you acted before, no wonder you didn't have friends."

"Sorry," Arthur said, looking kind of cowed. He turned to Accolon. "Sorry," he repeated again. "I just…"

"Aren't exactly impressed with me," Accolon said. "Yeah… Guess I can understand that. I mean, your brother-in-law…"

"I don't even _like_ my brother-in-law, and he definitely doesn't like me. This is more an honor thing. You know full well what you did to my sister," Arthur said, glaring at Accolon.

Accolon frowned, looking like he was going to get defensive, then backed off. Arthur made a point. "I never wanted… to dishonor her. It just happened," he defended.

"Universal sob story. It's not an excuse," Arthur flatly said.

"What, you think Uriens even loves her?" Accolon snapped.

"You know, that would be a really great question to ask Uriens," Arthur said slightly sarcastically. "But fine. I'll play devil's advocate. What has she told you that makes you say that? Because gods forbid she tell _me_ anything. Seriously. I want to know. I'm just _looking_ for a reason to hate the guy for more than the fact he's trying to war against me." Was Uriens abusing his sister or hurting her? That would be reason to hate him!

"She hasn't told _me_ much either. Just that he doesn't love her," Accolon replied. "And she says she knows he doesn't for a fact. When I pressed, she just told me to trust her and I did, because that's what you do when you love someone."

"You don't trust someone to blindness," Daniel said. Accolon looked over at him like he'd forgotten Daniel was here. He probably had. "I mean… you trust within reason. If you trust them too much, then-then you're, I don't know, kind of an idiot, aren't you?" Accolon looked a little troubled and shifted. He seemed about to reply, but just then Morgan came around the corner with Ywain and Yvain at her side, both of which were looking excited. Kay also was there. Arthur smiled at him, visibly relaxing to see his big brother was near. Kay looked startled, then pleasantly surprised Arthur was being, well, social for lack of a better word.

"Hi kiddies," Accolon said, smiling at the two boys.

"At least _you_ acknowledge Yvain," Arthur mumbled to him, hiding his mouth by sipping from water so Morgan couldn't see. Accolon nodded. He honestly kind of hoped that his acknowledging Yvain would drive Morgan to acknowledge him more.

"We're not kitties!" Ywain protested.

"Kiddies," Accolon replied. "Kids, not cats."

"Oh… We're not kids!" Ywain said.

"Are you teenagers? Are you adults?" Kay asked. Ywain was silent. "Then you're kids. Actually, you're closer to toddlers." Ywain stuck out his tongue. "Someone's in a bad mood," Kay remarked, smirking meanly. Ywain pouted, folding his arms and glaring down at the ground in agitation.

"Kids are baby goats," Yvain practically said, hands behind his back as he looked proudly and stubbornly up at Kay.

"Alright. Babies it is," Kay teased.

"Hi Ywain. I-I don't think you and I have ever got to really talk a lot. I mean first there was that whole awkward thing when your dad was, you know, trying to siege Worcestershire, then Morgan spirited you away pretty quick, then all the drama at the palace… Yeah, I've probably spent more time with Yvain than with you," Arthur said, trying for conversation. Morgan shot her brother a glare and went in for a kiss from Accolon, who looked about to oblige but then caught Arthur's glare. He turned his face away last minute, letting her lips fall on his cheek instead of on his mouth. She frowned, unimpressed at this, and gave her sibling a glare. Arthur ignored it, inwardly praising Accolon's restraint.

Ywain looked up at Arthur curiously. "Mama talks about you… Why do you never visit me here at school so I can get to know you?" he questioned Arthur.

"I… I don't know," Arthur admitted, blushing ashamedly. "I'll try to hang out with you more, okay? And have you guys all visit Far Far Away more."

Immediately Ywain lit up, beaming excitedly. "Oh wow, that's so cool! Your palace is so amazing!"

Arthur blinked then grinned proudly. Huh, he liked this nephew. "You bet it is," Arthur replied, winking at Ywain.

"Wow! Do you have lots of knights? I only saw a few and we like knocked them all out, but then you knighted Griflet and he's good at fighting. Ooh, can I be a knight too like Griflet?!" Ywain asked.

"Uh, a-a knight?" Arthur asked, flustered by the question. Uh oh. "Um m-maybe when you're older?"

"I'm old enough!" Ywain protested.

"No, you're not," Morgan firmly stated.

"Easy, Ywain, save the questions for later. You have the rest of your life to get to know your uncle," Alexander said, smirking at the boy affectionately. The kid was lazy, most of the time, but when he got excited he got excited.

" _I_ don't," Yvain sadly said. "Mama… Ywain's mama… says he's not my uncle because I'm not hers." He gave a woeful look to Morgan, who sighed and glanced away.

"Hey, don't get down on yourself, Yvain. I told you, as far as I'm concerned, you're as much my nephew as Ywain. No matter _what_ Morgan says," Arthur, immediately sympathetic, said, glaring accusingly at his sister. Morgan scoffed. Yvain looked hopefully at him. Arthur smiled. He had heard about what Yvain was called behind closed doors. The Bastard of Cavaliot, or some other such cold term. He hated that his nephew had to go through that… He knew what it was like…

"How on earth did _Uriens_ conceive two such good kids?" Alisander wondered, warming up to the two little boys a bit.

"Alexander, not in front of them. That's their father you're talking about," Soredamor chastised, frowning.

"Who forced my sister into a marriage!" Arthur protested.

"It was unwilling, but it wasn't him who forced me into it. He was _just_ as forced," Morgan remarked with a slight blush. She just had this sudden unshakable urge to defend her husband, and she vehemently tried to deny it was there, but it was. She couldn't ignore it.

"And believe it or not they've gotten better," Soredamer added. "A bit, that is. I mean, she actually defended him just now." Accolon gave Morgan an accusing glare.

Morgan glared warningly at Soredamer. Soredamer tensed and immediately bit her tongue. Morgan turned back to Accolon. "We haven't gotten that much better," she said to him, putting on an innocent smile.

Accolon relaxed slightly. "Well, I guess it wasn't all bad with him. After all, you have _this_ cool little guy to show for it now," he said, teasingly pushing Ywain.

"Hey!" Ywain protested against Accolon's pushing.

Kay and Arthur both gave Accolon incredulous looks. Accolon winced and pretended he hadn't seen. "Cool? You mean lazy and rude, of course? Kid's as much a creep as his _father_ was," Kay said. Ywain shot at dirty look at Kay and stuck out his tongue.

"Methinks he gets that from you," Arthur teased his foster brother.

"Oh please. Not even blood-related to the brat," Kay answered.

"He certainly picked up your _habits_ well enough," Arthur bit. Kay frowned.

"Sure they weren't Uriens's habits?" Alisander asked, rolling his eyes.

Yvain looked down, feeling sad. Why did everybody seem to not like his daddy? "Hey kiddo, don't worry about it, okay?" Accolon, noting the child's distress, said, kneeling down to him and hugging him lightly. "You're as much a part of Arthur's family as Ywain."

"I'm not sad about that!" Yvain insisted. "I'm sad because I don't understand why they all don't like daddy!"

"Because your dad is a piece of work?" Kay asked.

"No he isn't! Daddy is good and brave and not mean! He isn't!" Yvain insisted.

"Yvain, enough. They don't know," a new voice said, and all of them spun, catching their breath with eyes widening in shock. Say for Morgan, who looked like she'd seen this coming.

"Uriens!" they all exclaimed together. Sure enough, there stood the young king with a rucksack over his shoulder.

"Did I forget to mention this is one of his and Nentres' days on? My mistake," Morgan said. They glared at her then turned to Uriens again, looking a little nervous.

"Uncle Uriens, hey!" Soredamor chirped, forcing an awkward and embarrassed grin.

"Don't call me that," Uriens pled, rolling his eyes.

"You're not here to kill me, right?" Arthur bluntly asked, not even trying for cordiality.

"Oh, if I get the chance I will, make no mistake," Uriens answered, but his tone lacked bite. In fact, he looked a little defeated and tired… Maybe even a bit hurt…

"Oh, uh, g-guess you heard? Um, how much, exactly, did you hear?" Accolon awkwardly questioned, losing his poise. Uriens flipped him the bird and said nothing. Accolon winced. "Right… Of course. Probably everything."

"Who cares whether he heard it all or not? _He_ knows where he sits on the likability scale here. There's nothing we could possibly learn about the diva that would change that," Kay said, ready to go for his sword the minute the guy made any sort of move against Arthur at all.

"You know what, Kay? Little known fact, but people actually grow up!" Uriens snapped sharper than he'd intended to, but he didn't back down. "And believe it or not, I grew up _quick_ after my father died and I had to take the throne."

"How so?" Kay challenged.

Uriens was quiet. Finally, he sighed and answered, "Look, I get you don't like me, none of you, but it's none of your business what happened back then." Yvain looked a little crestfallen that his father wasn't going to stand up for himself, and Ywain looked a bit disappointed too. Uriens winced at the looks on the faces of his sons, then sighed. "Fine. I'll tell you," he finally, and slightly bitterly, relented. His sons perked up and listened in rapt attention along with the others.


	2. King Uriens and the Bastard of Cavaliot

King Uriens of Gore and the Bastard of Cavaliot

(A/N: At the end of this chapter I will be posting a recap section for those who may be confused. Book two will be recapped next chapter. Sooner or later, I will also start posting an opening 'Bios' section. Or maybe have it as a 'story' of its own. Let me know your opinion on which you'd like to have, either a separate story consisting of just bios, or a bios chapter, which will eventually get pretty long, before each story officially starts.)

He'd been devastated when he learned of Morgan's unfaithfulness. He couldn't say he hadn't expected it, she'd had a thing for Accolon for a while now, but it hurt nonetheless. It hurt really, really bad. In a rage he rode away after their fight, leaving her behind in the castle in tears he was happy he'd gotten out of her. He didn't know where he planned to go. Anywhere but here, he guessed. He'd just kept riding and riding and riding until he'd come upon a little town. Cavaliot, he believed it was called. It was a peaceful little place, warm and inviting. A place where you could go to get away from your troubles.

The first thing he'd done was find a tavern. That had been his biggest mistake, because in that tavern he found a girl. She was a tavern wench. He'd noticed right away she was pretty to look at. That had been the extent of it. She'd flirted with him, he brushed her off. As the night went on and more mead was downed, he'd begun to flirt back. He'd kept it innocent still, though! He never meant for it to happen! But getting drunk and being hurt and flirting with strangers was a bad mix. Somewhere along the way the idea had come to him that if Morgan cheated on him, why couldn't he cheat on her? It would be payback in the harshest of ways! Maybe then she'd feel what he'd felt. Maybe then she'd realize that maybe she had loved him like he'd loved her and Accolon was just a good time. Somewhere in his mind he'd known that was stupid logic, but it was what it was, and the next thing he knew he was in a room, wrapped up in another girl's arms and her in his. In the light of day, she'd realized who she'd slept with, and bolted in terror and humiliation. He'd let her go. He'd felt equally as miserable and guilty. That should have been the end of it. It hadn't been… He hadn't meant for what happened to happen…

KAK

"It was you that did this to me, it wasn't my fault! My liege, please!" she pled on her knees, weeping as he'd furiously advanced on her with sword drawn. "You never have to see me again! I'll never tell, I promise! If I must be shamed I'll be shamed, but let me live! Let your child live!" The words 'your child' froze him in place, snapping him back to himself. Shivering, he dropped the sword and fell to his knees terrified. Terrified of _himself_ … And of what this meant for her and the child she carried… He had hoped to hide it from Morgan. He had hoped to god she never had to know. If _she_ lived a double life, _he_ could manage to live one too! The difference was he _had_ to now.

He'd supported the girl he'd impregnated subtly throughout the duration, fighting to keep the affair secret from Morgan. Half the time he wondered if he should keep it secret at all. He couldn't kid himself. He'd slept with this woman out of spite for his wife. He'd caught her sneaking off more than once with Accolon of Gaul, to his disgust, and had heard them at one point in _his_ room in _his_ bed when she thought he was gone, so he knew they weren't just innocent visits like Morgan insisted… It broke his heart… He couldn't keep lying to himself after that… He wished he could just expose them both, but he knew what that would do to their son. Ywain loved his mother so much… _He_ loved her too… Enough so that he let himself be cuckolded by that… that _creep_! Okay, he hadn't been much less of a creep before his dad died and he ended up slapped on the throne, but at least he hadn't been sleeping with another guy's wife or girlfriend! He ignored the rumors he knew were spreading, he pretended he was obliviously naïve to her infidelity, he let the servants keep thinking he was blind, he acted like everything was okay, but he _knew_. He knew the truth. For his son's sake, though, he said nothing… Now he was eating it while Morgan was sitting pretty with no consequences whatsoever for what she was doing. That was just his luck.

He didn't resent what had happened between him and girl in Cavaliot. If anything, it gave him a welcome distraction. Besides, hiding his infidelity from his wife kept him reminded that he wasn't the naïve, blind, doorknob he pretended to be. God, he could kill Accolon for what he was doing. He sent the girl money, he stopped in to ensure she was faring well and made sure he wasn't seen entering or leaving… He came when the due date neared and was with her when she went into labor and gave birth to his second son… A son no one could know existed. Ever. He named the boy after his own child by Morgan. He didn't know why he had. Maybe it was just another way to spite his wife for what she was doing to him. A change in a single letter and it was all good. He could even pretend to be talking about Ywain if he gave in to the cocky desire to brag about Yvain to Morgan without her knowing. She already thought he was stupid and sappy as hell, so whatever… For a few years, everything was good. Everything was under control… Then everything went to shi… crap.

KAK

 _Yvain, on his knees beside his mother's still body, stared miserably at it with big tears shining in his eyes. He'd stared for hours, hoping mommy would get up. "Mommy?" he tried one last time, voice breaking, but he knew already she wasn't there anymore. He sniffed, curling up on himself and quietly crying. Where was he supposed to go…?_

King Uriens of Gore rode through the town of Cavaliot. Every so often he would do so, hoping to catch a glimpse of the child he'd left behind here. Yes, when she'd told him she was pregnant he'd been appalled. As time passed, though, appal had turned into love. Not for her, he could love no woman as he did Morgan, but love for the boy and a desire to be there for him and his mother both. He didn't see them often, a few times every year was the target, but he'd missed last year. He couldn't miss this year too. He… he missed his child…

He looked around the town frowning. It was strangely silent. Had someone died? About a minute later he heard the funeral procession and inwardly winced. Ooh… His bad. He rode towards it, observing in silence. His heart sank. Funerals always depressed him. They reminded him too much of the deaths of his parents. He hadn't known who the dead person was, but out of respect he went down to join it. The mourners wailed, people murmured. His ears tuned into one conversation.

"The poor thing is all alone now that his mother is gone. It's such a shame. Such a beautiful little boy, doomed to die on the streets as a beggar," one woman regretfully murmured. Uriens inwardly winced. So, it was a woman who had died, then. One with a small son by the sounds of it. Did he have no one else? Apparently not.

"Either that or he will be kidnapped and sold into slavery. Goodness knows the orphanage is too full to take him on," another more grimly stated. "Death is probably the kinder of the fates that will fall on the Bastard of Cavaliot." Uriens's eyes narrowed coldly as he glanced towards the women. He thought about telling the second one off before deciding it wasn't his business. They reached the place where the woman would be interred. He peered through the crowds. Up near the casket, dressed in a little cloak and looking terrified and lost and grief-stricken, was a small boy who couldn't be even a year younger than Ywain was, all alone.

Uriens's heart went out to the child. He couldn't just stand here idly. The poor thing had no one. He moved towards the small boy to sit by him. He'd offer to bring him to an orphanage back in his kingdom where he might be safe, he decided… And then the boy turned around and looked in his direction, and he froze, eyes widening. One glance told him, beyond any shadow of a doubt, just who this boy was. He gasped. His secret son. Yvain! It was like he'd been rooted to the spot. He couldn't move, and he couldn't take his eyes off the child he'd kept hidden.

A man approached Yvain. "Your mother's house belongs to the kingdom now. You can't stay there any longer," he said bluntly. What, was this person under the impression the child was just an oddly small adult?! He bristled at the tone the man was taking.

"But-but where will I go?" the child asked, voice breaking.

"Figure it out or die," the man answered harshly, turning and leaving. Uriens almost went after him. Yvain dissolved into tears, helpless and alone. Uriens didn't even think twice. Immediately he went up to the boy, gently rested his hands on his shoulders, and said, "Shh, it's alright. You'll be alright."

The little one, startled, looked up at him fearfully, tensing up like he was ready to run if he had to. He blinked up at the youth behind him curiously. The youth turned him around and knelt in front of him. Yvain watched, mystified. "Why do you look so much like me?" Yvain questioned.

"Because… because I'm your father. And I'm taking you back home with me," Uriens answered. Morgan was going to kill him…

Yvain caught his breath, eyes bugging wide. Mama had told him about his father, how he came every year to see them except last year. He couldn't remember the man—boy in this case, it seemed—but mama had told him that this year he probably would. Then mama had died, and Yvain had been afraid that even if his father _did_ come, he wouldn't be able to find his sire or recognize him anyway to ask for help. "You are?" he finally breathed. "You-you want me?"

"I do," Uriens sincerely answered, no hint of hesitation in his voice. "I want you very much." Yvain's mouth trembled. Uriens pulled him close to himself and Yvain cuddled against his chest. Uriens picked him gently up and rose, looking around. "You there!" he called to someone. The man turned. "What happened to this child's mother?" he questioned.

"No one's sure, sir. She died under mysterious circumstances indeed," the man answered, and Uriens felt a chill race down his spine. A dark thought pricked at him saying that maybe Morgan had known about the affair after all… Morgan or one of the siblings she spoke of on occasion. Which made him iffy about bringing Yvain back, but there was little choice. He'd hoped to keep his affair a secret from his wife, but he wasn't abandoning his son to the streets or to a slave owner. He wasn't!

 _He brought Yvain home. One look at him and Morgan became livid. Not surprised, but livid. She'd known, he'd realized then. Another dark thought had crossed his mind in that moment. That maybe Yvain hadn't been meant to survive either… He kept the child as close to him as possible for months afterwards._

Present

"And thus, Yvain came to be in his father's house and all that there poetic stuff," Uriens said. "Ywain was ecstatic to find out he had a brother, of course, and Yvain was too."

"It was the best moment in my life!" Ywain exclaimed, perking up excitedly, grabbing his brother in a hug and squishing Yvain, who gasped for air.

Uriens smirked at them before turning back to the others. "Morgan wasn't thrilled, but it wasn't all bad. After she pieced together that I'd known about her and Accolon the whole time, she suddenly became a lot more intrigued by the guy who was _actually_ her husband," he continued, shooting a defiant and slightly triumphant look at Accolon, who clenched his fists and glared angrily at Uriens. "Yeah, that was about the time she, you know, cut back on the time she spent with you in favor of spending it with _me_. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say she liked that side of me she hadn't known existed. Twisted irony, isn't it 'pal'?" Uriens bit. It meant maybe he still had a chance after all…

"Go fu…" Accolon began with a sneer before stopping himself on spotting the children looking at him with wide eyes. "Yeah. Irony," he finally, begrudgingly, muttered.

"Good boy," Uriens praised. Accolon almost went at him, but Kay quickly stepped between them. The others listened in shocked disbelief. Uriens had done _that_? Uriens of Gore? "Look, I get it's hard to believe. I was a total tool back in the day, I still kind of am, but as it turns out time changes people," he finished.

Morgan looked livid, glaring spitefully at her husband like she wanted to kill him but was refraining for all she was worth. "Uriens knew from the start?!" Accolon demanded of her sharply. "I thought you said you handled it Morgan! That he was, what were your words? A blind idiot who couldn't piece together an affair if it slapped him in the face?"

"Oh, she staked everything on that belief," Uriens couldn't help but boast, refraining for all he was worth from shooting a victorious look at Morgan. "She has a tendency to underestimate everyone she shouldn't."

"Lucky for _you_ , Uriens was above killing you," Arthur said, smirking in satisfaction at Accolon. Uriens snorted in agreement, ignoring Morgan's glare. See? Even the brother-in-law who hated him was taking his side in this. Accolon frowned at Arthur and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. Uncertainty came to his gaze soon after, however. He knew the young king was right. He'd been _beyond_ lucky that Uriens hadn't just one day barged in on him and Morgan and ordered him slaughtered. Goodness knew the guy had had ample opportunity, and had probably really, really wanted to.

"Unluckily for him, I suspected there was another son in the picture from the start," Morgan said testily. "You can only screw up your own child's name so many times before it gets suspicious. And the things you boasted about 'Ywain' accomplishing? Half the time they were things we'd never done in our lives!"

"I'm sorry, am I supposed to be surprised to hear you knew? Come on Morgan, give me a bit more credit. I'd hoped you hadn't caught on, but I'm not surprised you did," Uriens replied.

"Ooh, did you get jealous Morgan? Maybe you got the other woman out of the picture?" Soredamor said. Uriens inwardly winced. He'd omitted that part of the story, but he supposed if anyone could fluke a guess as to what he suspected had happened, it would be Soredamer.

"How could you even think that of me?!" Morgan demanded defensively. "I didn't plan that girl's death!"

"Whoa, easy. I wasn't saying you did. I was just joking," Soredamor said, a bit taken aback by the reaction.

"I don't care if you were joking or not. You have no right to imply I'd do anything so vile as that!" Morgan shot. Arthur and Kay were silent, staring at Morgan in disbelief. Quickly they looked away from her when she turned towards them, eyes flaming as she judged who might believe she'd be capable of it and who didn't. She obviously didn't like what she saw and scoffed. "You know what? I never wanted to hang out with you guys anyway. I have more important things to do," she sneered. Turning on her heel, she marched away.

"Morgan, wait! No one is accusing you of anything!" Accolon called after her. Morgan ignored him, marching on. "Morgan!" Accolon called again.

"Oh, will you just shut up?" Uriens sneered at him, eyes blazing angrily. This guy had no right to pretend he was concerned for Morgan! Even if it wasn't pretend.

"Let her go, Accolon. She'll calm down soon," Alisander said.

Accolon hesitated then sighed, nodding and bowing his head. He hoped they were right. He looked over at the two shaken little boys worriedly. They looked nervous and unsure. "Hey, it's okay," he said to them, tone softening markedly. "Morgan would never plan something like that. Ever," he said. Uriens looked about ready to deck the other boy, but was showing great self-restraint, begrudgingly grateful for the reassuring remark. Ywain seemed to be soothed at these words. Yvain was unfazed, gazing after Morgan with a wounded look in his eyes. At this point, the boy didn't know _what_ to believe. Accolon sighed, shaking his head worriedly.

"Hey, why don't you two get to class? Don't want to be late," Uriens gently said, kneeling in front of his sons. "I'm sorry you had to hear this." He focused attention on Yvain. "Son, look at me," he said. Yvain weakly raised his head to look at his father. "I'll find out what happened to your mother one day, I promise. But until then don't listen to what anyone says about it, okay? And don't be scared. I'm here for you. Always."

"Okay," Yvain said, wiping an eye. Uriens kissed is forehead gently and ruffled his hair.

Ywain took his brother's hand in his and smiled reassuringly. "Come on Yvain, let's go," he prompted. Yvain nodded and let his brother bring him away, so they could go to their classes.

KAK

Uriens watched after them then rose. "You're a good father," Accolon murmured quietly.

"I don't need your validation," Uriens answered.

"I'm not trying… I'm sorry. I just… Sorry. Didn't mean it like that," Accolon said.

Uriens sighed. "I know," he answered. "Thanks."

Accolon nodded then looked around at the rest of the group. He frowned. "Hey, where's Daniel?" he asked

Arthur started and looked around too. "What the…? He was right here!" he said.

"He probably wandered off. He does that," Kay said.

"Oh dammit. Probably figured he wouldn't be missed," Accolon said, covering his face with his hands in exasperation. And to be fair he rarely was, but still! "Great. Guess he never sticks around for small talk."

"This wasn't exactly small talk!" Arthur shot.

"He probably took off after I finished the story. Probably while we were discussing it or arguing," Uriens pointed out. Heck, maybe he'd left before. He really didn't care.

"He couldn't have gone far. I'm going to look for him," Accolon said.

"Why bother? He _wasn't_ missed," Kay said.

"Kay!" Arthur protested, frowning at his brother.

"What? It's the truth," Kay replied.

"Screw you!" Arthur shot. "In case you've forgotten, I was pretty well him before all the king stuff!"

"Oh, come on Artie, that wasn't what I meant," Kay said.

"Whatever bro. Accolon, wait up!" Arthur called, going after Accolon to help him search. Kay groaned, rolling his eyes, then gave an apologetic look to the others and hurried after his brother and Accolon. Uriens watched after them quietly then turned to find Morgan without a word.

KAK

Uriens walked in silence, glaring at the ground. About now he was regretting opening his mouth. Morgan was probably furious at him, which was just what he didn't need. Ugh, he didn't even want to _think_ about all the apologizing and grovelling he'd have to do to appease her. "That close to Arthur and Accolon both, and you didn't run anyone through? I'm surprised at your restraint, Uriens," a voice said.

Uriens glanced over. "Nentres," he greeted with a nod.

"You should have taken the king out then and there," Nentres said.

"I'm sorry, do you want a vengeful and grieving Kay and Cador down you throat?" Uriens replied. Nentres's hard look wavered to one of unease as he grimaced. "I didn't think so. But hey, you wanna take out the king on universally neutral ground packed with knights in training whose job description is literally 'protect the king', go for it. _I'm_ not that stupid, but stupid is as stupid does I guess."

"I get the picture," Nentres flatly replied.

"Don't you have final year courses to do?" Uriens asked.

"I'm half-day," Nentres answered.

"You know if Caradoc is ever going to come back to Worcestershire?" Uriens wondered.

"Probably. Once things are a little more solid in our plans for the next strike against Arthur," Nentres answered.

"Or once Cador gets to him and talks him out of helping us," Uriens dryly noted.

"That, or we get to see all sorts of fun best friend drama play out," Nentres agreed dryly with a sigh. "Where are you headed anyway?"

"To find Morgan," Uriens said.

"Yay," Nentres said unenthusiastically.

"Go back to your wife. Oh wait, you can't. She took off," Uriens sharply bit. Nentres started and looked stung. Badly. Uriens winced. "Oh gods, I can't believe I just said that. I'm sorry, man. I really am. I know that's kind of… still an open wound for you."

"A wound? It's a death blow," Nentres meekly said, hanging his head.

"Hey, she'll come back, okay?" Uriens said, tentatively placing a hand on Nentres's shoulder. He and his brothers-in-law kind of had never been all that close until this whole ganging up against Arthur thing. In fact, they'd been pretty indifferent to one another for the most part. It was... kind of nice to be bonding with them a bit.

"Would Morgan?" Nentres flatly asked.

"She's still here, isn't she?" Uriens replied, shrugging. "She made me suffer in her own way for riding against Arthur. I'm pretty sure Elaine's not half as cruel as her sister is."

"I hope you're right," Nentres said, sighing. He looked up and around then frowned. "Look, there's Daniel. He took off on you guys earlier, right?" Uriens looked quickly over in surprise. Sure enough, there was Daniel, and it looked like the jousting team was hassling him.

Uriens frowned. "Just my luck. Go looking for Morgan and end up finding the guy Arthur and Accolon are looking for. I'll bet those two stumble across Morgan before _I_ get the chance to. And then of course Accolon will sweep her off her feet and they'll go off and find some secluded little nook and… Ugh, whatever. Come on, let's see what's up," he said, heading towards Daniel quickly. Nentres followed. He was a good bit older than any of the jocks on the jousting team, so with luck that would give him a bit of leverage and authority over them.

KAK

"Daniel, you out here all alone? What? Librarian finally get sick of seeing your face?" Lancelot said, smirking back at his fellow jousters—minus Sagremore and Brunor of course, because when they were around, Daniel was off limits—with arms folded.

Daniel stayed quiet and tried to move around them. "Hey, we're talking to you loser," one of the others, Galihoden, said, reaching out and seizing his arm roughly. Daniel stared at him then tried to pull away. He gasped when Galihoden yanked him painfully back and threw him at Bran de Lis.

Brandelis caught him with a cruel grin. "Pay attention when you're being spoken to, Danny," he chided. Daniel didn't meet their eyes, just tried again to pull away. He gasped as Bran tossed him to Bleoberis, who wrenched his arm and made him bite back a cry of pain.

"Okay, that's enough. Let him go," Gawain said, looking concerned. "This the example you want to set for Bohort, Lance?" Lancelot gave his friend a glare then seemed to think it over, noticing Bors looking uneasy.

"Pfft, gotta toughen up de brat somehow," Bleoberis scoffed. He wrenched Daniel's arm again and Daniel cried out.

"Hey, let him go!" Uriens snapped, eyes narrowing as he marched towards them angrily.

"Oh dammit, the tool's back," Galihoden said with a scoff.

"You gonna make us traitor?" Lancelot challenged, eyes all but slits now.

"Traitor? Like you're one to talk. You're probably having a blast knowing little Artie's on the ropes," Uriens sneered at Lancelot.

"I don't like the king, but I'm not betraying him either!" Lancelot snapped.

"King? Hah! Yeah right. He's _your_ king, not mine," Uriens said.

"He's high king. He rules _all_ of you," Gawain said firmly.

"Speaking of kings, _let's_ talk hierarchy. Whether or not we're Arthur's enemies, at the end of the day Uriens and I are still kings in our own rights. We're still at the top of the scale in this little mashup happening here," Nentres said firmly.

"Even above the exiled prince-who-would-be-king Lancelot, so let me make this real simple for you. I order you to release Daniel Von Dem Bluhenden Tal right now!" Uriens cut in, and Nentres could have face-palmed. Thanks to that tone of voice, now there would be confrontation. More so than there would have been otherwise. Great.

"Yeah, I don't think so!" Lancelot barked.

"Daniel of the Flowering Valley. How does it feel to have _that_ kind of title?" Galihoden taunted. Daniel stayed quiet, head bowed miserably.

"Let him go!" Uriens shouted.

"Okay. We'll let him go. If you give us your kids for target practice later," Brandelis said.

"Better offer. I'll let you keep your lives!" Uriens shot, drawing his sword. "I almost rode on this dump with an army before, and I probably wouldn't have regretted razing it to the ground, so don't think I won't have just as much fun cutting you creeps to pieces _off_ the battlefield as I would have had on it!"

"You really think you can take us, 'King' Uriens?" Lancelot sneered. "Bad news, pal. Here in Worcestershire you aren't top dog. _I_ am. Even with Nentres backing you up, we'll still put you two in the ground. Get him! The King of Garlot too!"

"Back off before you lose something important to you!" Nentres threatened, moving to Uriens' side and preparing to fight back with him, whilst at the same time giving a pointed look at Bohort. Fear came to the boy's eyes, and Lancelot lunged at Nentres without even a hesitation.

"Lancelot, enough!" Tristan snapped, speaking up and catching Lancelot before he and Nentres could clash. Lancelot scowled at him. Tristan glared unwaveringly back.

Lancelot looked like he'd go at Tristan, but at that moment Gawain put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "Lance, let it go," he said calmly. "They're trying to get under your skin. They know where to hit you just as easy as you know where to hit them, so just let it go. And leave Daniel alone, or I promise you Sagremore and Brunor will both be hearing about it."

"Blackmail? Really?" Lancelot demanded.

Gawain shrugged. "Daniel will probably tell Brunor anyway, and Sagremore can probably worm it out of him even if Brunor can't. You're done both ways. Might as well soften the blow by letting Daniel go yourself instead of fighting over him with Uriens and Nentres. This is getting to be like a bunch of dogs warring over a bone, and someone's gonna get seriously hurt. Look, this isn't the side of you Bohort deserves to see more often than he already has," he muttered to his friend.

Lancelot turned to Uriens and Nentres, who were braced to face whoever dared come near them. Uriens was scowling and looking for all the world like a cornered animal defending its young, and they _all_ knew that wouldn't end well. They'd crossed a line trying to bargain for the guy's children. They'd crossed _way_ over it. And then it had been _double_ crossed when Nentres threatened Bors. There was a tense standoff for a moment. Finally, Lancelot huffed. "Fine," he relented. "Let Daniel go." Bleoberis growled, unimpressed, but did so. Well, more he roughly pushed Daniel down to the ground. Daniel bit back a cry, hissing in pain as he hit the dirt. Uriens moved quickly to him, pulling him up and away from the jocks.

"Take a hike off a steep cliff. All of you," Uriens sneered at them. "And for the record, 'of the Flowering Valley' is no less lame than 'of the Lake'. Seriously? Lancelot of the Lake? That's gotta be just as pathetic. By the way, I'm sure Dinadan will be aching to hear your slight against his father's name."

"You pathetic cuckold of a boy! Get out of my sight before I set them on you for real!" Lancelot shouted.

Uriens went at him. "Uriens!" Nentres shot, trying to stop him. Daniel stayed back, alarmed. Uriens tackled Lancelot and the two started grappling together. Quickly Gawain and Tristan leapt into action. Gawain seized Lancelot and Tristan seized Uriens, and quickly they pried the scowling duo apart.

They continued to struggle a bit longer before Uriens stopped putting up a fight. Tristan's grip loosened and Uriens pulled roughly away, but he didn't go at Lancelot, just glared. "You know what? Forget this. I've grown up, you haven't. You're not worth my time, and I'm not going to be setting this kind of example for a kid." He pointed at Bohort to make a point and was satisfied to see the brief guilt flash through Lancelot's eyes. "You're not worth warping your cousin over. Go screw yourself Lancelot." Turning on his heel he marched away. "Come on guys," he said to Nentres and Daniel. Daniel winced, but nonetheless went with them looking a bit awkward and embarrassed. The jousting team glared after the three.

KAK

Uriens marched in silence. Nentres was lagging behind with Daniel, both of them feeling like they probably shouldn't talk right now given the way Uriens was fuming. "You didn't have to do that for me," Daniel finally dared speak up.

"Principle," Uriens excused dismissively. He slowed and stopped, sighing and bowing his head while shaking it. He turned. "Look, I'm not sure if you took off because of the drama, or if you took off because you figured the conversation had become small talk and we forgot you, but I'm sorry about that either way. Arthur, Accolon, and Kay actually headed off to try and find you when we noticed you were missing. I was trying to catch Morgan, but obviously _that_ didn't pan out. Just… sorry, again."

"No, it's… it's okay… It was probably kind of aloof and snobby of me anyway," Daniel murmured.

"I try not to confuse shyness with snobbishness," Uriens answered.

"You're one of the rare ones," Daniel said.

"You know it's not as rare as you might think, right?" Nentres replied. Daniel tensed slightly and shrugged, flushing. Nentres examined him then sighed. "Where's Sagramore? Thought he was with the jousting crew."

"He's sick," Daniel answered. "And Brunor is with Dinadan I guess, and Kay's with Arthur and Accolon you said, so yeah."

Uriens nodded. "Listen, why don't you stick with us? Help us find Morgan. Maybe you'll feel more involved this time," he said.

"Yeah," Daniel replied, but it was obvious he wasn't convinced.

"You don't sound confident. What is it?" Nentres asked.

Daniel tensed a bit. "Just… I've heard that before… A lot…" he replied. It never failed that eventually he was forgotten.

"And…?" Nentres pressed.

Daniel shrugged. "Come on, just give it a shot," Uriens prompted.

"Look, I've got classes to go to but thanks for the invite. Maybe… maybe some other time?" he said. He didn't honestly believe there would ever be another time, though. There never was, no matter who he dared reach out to.

"Sure thing," Nentres said.

Daniel nodded. He doubted that, but at least there was a chance, right? "Thank you. Again. I'll… see you around maybe." Turning, he quickly shuffled off huddled in on himself.

"Poor kid's not gonna survive high school at this rate," Uriens dryly said, shaking his head. "He's more socially awkward than Arthur even was."

"He stays out of sight. If he has a shot at making it through, being invisible is how he'll pull it off. Probably the best thing he's got going for himself. Come on, let's track down that elusive wife of yours," Nentres stated. Uriens nodded in agreement.

* * *

 **RECAP OF BOOK ONE**

#1: The Once and Future King - Act 1

Arthur's official coronation is coming up, and Queen Lillian is in a flurry to set everything up. Arthur is lazing around. An unimpressed Lillian gives him a pop quiz on rudimentary information the king should know. He fails miserably. Concerned for her nephew's suitability for the throne, Lillian tasks Shrek to bring Arthur back to Worcestershire along with the court jester Dagonet, who is close to Arthur's age and who she hopes will put him at ease. On the way, Arthur escapes the carriage and flees into the woods, followed by Dagonet, where he stumbles upon Merlin's shack and is surprised to find his foster brother Kay and half-sister Morgan there, looking for him. Rumors have spread that the ogre who took him away killed him. Kay, refusing to believe it, set off in search of his brother. Morgan went with him. When Shrek and co show up, Kay goes on the offense. Arthur interferes and soon they are seated around a triangle table Merlin conjures up, and Arthur explains his predicament to his foster brother and half-sister. They're unsympathetic. Ultimately, they convince Arthur to return. Upon arrival, things immediately go wrong. Faced by a group his tormentors consisting of Lancelot, Gareth, Gawain, Alymere or Astomar, and a small child named Mordred who's a pain in the backside. Dagonet and Alymere bond over a shared sense of humor and Dagonet goes off with him, then Kay is offered a place on the jousting team by Lancelot which he seriously considers until learning that part of initiation is to bully Arthur. He almost refuses, but a friend of his, Bedivere, appears. A member of the jousting team also, he gets Kay in without fuss to Arthur's disbelief. Morgan, overheard telling them she's married to the famous actor and King Uriens of Gore, gets swept up by Gwen's excited friends and a reluctant Gwen, and suddenly Arthur finds himself alone with his enemies. He's spared a beating when Lancelot gets preoccupied with his half-brother Hector and cousins Lionel and Bohort, or Bors. He leaves with them, the others drift off, and soon Arthur finds himself alone with Gawain who reveals a side of him Arthur never knew existed. Then shares a sobering tale about Lancelot that challenges everything Arthur knows about the jock. Gawain then confesses he believes Arthur is king, and so does Lancelot. Welcoming him back, Gawain leaves, and Arthur is left to wonder at just how much things have actually changed in the months he's been gone.

Arthur learns Principal Pynchly is no longer in office. He has been superseded by King Pellinore, who has taken his place as principal and is fighting to undo the damage done to the school under Pynchly. Pellinore brings him to the gym where Arthur is reunited with his foster father, Ector, who has been sick with fear and worry over him. After a joyous reunion, it's revealed Arthur's coronation won't take place in Far Far Away, but will in fact be taking place in Worcestershire. Arthur is horrified and the rest of the class is ordered to help with the preparations. They blame Arthur for it. After class, Ector takes him aside and father and son begin to talk. Arthur expresses his feelings of uncertainty and inadequacy to his dad. Ector has a talk with him, encouraging him and building him up, giving gentle reassurance. It helps. Soon after, school genius Lucan, a boy who happens to be on neutral terms with Arthur, is tasked to help him with preparations for the coronation. After some discussion, Arthur leaves and comes across the hotboxing twins, Balan and Balin, who are ecstatic to see him, though he doesn't understand why given they barely even know one another beyond first names. Nevertheless he tolerates them. And soon finds himself starting to open up...

Meanwhile, Big Bad Wolf has followed the call of the wild, prompting Shrek, Puss, and Donkey to return to Worcestershire to see if he'd gone back there. Instead they find Artie pining away for Guinevere and decide to try and help him. At first it seems to be working, but when Lancelot makes the scene, progress is lost. He scoops Guinevere back inside to join the bash, leaving Arthur alone outside her window. Shrek, Donkey, and Puss work to boost Arthur's waning confidence in himself as king, then accompany him back to Ector's quarters. The next day, Lillian has arrived and coronation plans are drawing to a close. Ector and Lillian help him with his outfit and emotional conversation ensues. Arthur leaves and goes to wander through the ruins outside Worcestershire. There he finds a deeply upset Gawain, and though his better judgement tells him to just leave, he can't. He goes to Gawain to see what's wrong and they start to talk. Gawain confesses things happened at the party that weren't entirely chaste. Arthur asks if Gwen and Lance did anything. Gawain tells him that Lancelot thought he had, but it wasn't actually Gwen he'd gone to bed with. Lancelot shows up, prompting Arthur to hide, and Gawain stays silent as to Arthur's location. Arthur bears witness to another moment, one between Gawain and Lance, that once more challenges all he knew about his principal tormentor. It isn't long before Arthur is discovered. Lancelot, livid, rises to challenge him, but before he can, Lucan appears telling Arthur they have an urgent problem. The one set to coronate Arthur will only do so if Arthur completes a dangerous task so great that whoever might find the object before him, has the authority to challenge him for his throne. The Holy Grail.

Arthur goes directly to Shrek, Puss, and Donkey for help, and together they depart the school. They aren't the only ones. Lancelot, determined to find it before Arthur and win the throne, has taken a group too. Many other groups have gone to search as well, and the competition is fierce. Shrek is fast done with the whole thing, but Arthur is relentless in his pursuit, driving Shrek to come up with a plan. He leads Arthur to a cave, after sending Puss and Donkey ahead, claiming he's found it. Arthur enters the cave with a makeshift helmet and shield to face whatever waits inside. He runs across the lamest monster he's ever seen in his life and easily defeats it, side-stepping and letting it fall into a hole. When he goes for the grail itself, though, he's met with something far, far worse. A dragon has made this cave its den! Forced into a fight with the beast, Arthur frantically battles to stay alive. Shrek and the 'monster' - Puss and Donkey in disguise - attempt to help. The dragon has no issue taking them out, and Arthur is left to face it alone. Alone he defeats it, burying the creature under a mound of rubble and rock from a cave-in he made it cause. Confidence boosted, and now more eager than ever to take on the crown, he races back to the school with Shrek and co to present the grail... Except it's not the grail, and Arthur become a laughing stock. Until, that is, the man coronating him, Bishop Baudwin, tells him it wasn't the grail itself that was important. It was how far Arthur would be willing to go for his people, that was the test and the principle behind the task. Baudwin will be honored to coronate Arthur, and the ceremony is carried out.

The Once and Future King - Act 2

The story of Uther Pendragon is in part told, and we learn of his fate and of how the Fairy Godmother intervened to save him from it. Arthur's backstory, around the time of his pulling the sword from the stone, is told. Present day, Arthur is at his coronation feast when word comes of a group of kings late arriving. Their numbers concern Arthur. He goes to Pellinore for advice, and the principal advises him to send messengers out to meet them. Arthur does so. While they are gone, he takes a walk around the school and runs into Gawain's brother Agravaine, a snake who basks in questionable pursuits that lend themselves to a career in either espionage or assassination. Agravaine offers to set Arthur up with Guinevere. Arthur is rightfully suspicions, but the promise of a date with Guinevere proves too tempting. He agrees to let Agravaine handle their meeting. Lancelot is the one who returns with the message that Gwen wants to meet in the maze, and he looks enraged about it, to Arthur's satisfaction. Caution is thrown to the wind as excitement takes its place. He's brought back to earth when Dagonet's new friend Alymere runs across him and grounds him with a deadpan reality that once more raises Arthur's suspicions. Astomar offers to accompany him. He agrees to the extra protection. They look for Gwen but find no sign of her. They're about to leave when Arthur catches sight of her waiting for someone. He dares think that maybe Agravaine pulled through, but before he can go to her, he and Alymere are ambushed by the jocks and dragged away.

Lancelot and his cronies trap them in the ruins. They take Arthur with them and confront Alymere about turning his back on them in favor of Arthur. They offer him forgiveness in exchange for cooperation. Alymere takes a pass telling them he's through with false friends. They leave him in the ruins alone. Arthur is humiliated and stuffed into a locker wearing next to nothing, wings tarred to his back and a note tarred to his chest, for the owner of said locker to find. That owner is a boy about Kay's age by the name of Dinadan. Dark rumors have been spread of his lecherous behaviors and Arthur fears he may end up a victim, but Dinadan, it seems, is more interested in the fact Lancelot's behind this. Employing, read forcing, Arthur's help, he goes to confront the jouster. Things get heated and dangerous between them, leading into an ultimate fight that's about to turn deadly. Arthur manages to intervene last minute and keep them from killing one another, but in turn he receives the lecture of a lifetime from his foster father, a harsh dose of reality. Lancelot is taken by a teacher, King Galehaut who he was defending, for a lecture of his own. Galehaut is fond of Lancelot and his brother, and he doesn't hold back. A more human side of Lancelot creeps into the forefront, Galehaut's words effecting him deeply.

Meanwhile, Arthur joins up with Dagonet and they realize Alymere is still missing. To their surprise it is another jock, Brunor le Noir, who tells them his location. He had earlier helped kidnap them and trap them, but Dinadan is his brother, and Arthur saved Dinadan's life, so this once Brunor switches loyalties. They race to save Alymere, and Arthur, on learning Astomar was given the opportunity to be forgiven and let go, is stunned to learn he refused it for his sake. Not for the first time, Arthur is forced to reevaluate his opinions on his schoolmates in Worcestershire. Upon returning, the messengers have come back. The news is bad. The kings approaching are rebels ready for war! Arthur and his schoolmates are put into a tower where they will be kept safe, and remain there for a day or two before the teachers deem it safe to let them out onto school grounds again, though they're forbidden from leaving them for their own safety. The rebel kings remain encamped around the place looking for a way in to seize Arthur and depose him. The students are ready to hand him over for fear, the teachers not so much. Merlin attempts twice to stop the hostilities, but falls flat. Arthur tries twice to convince the ringleader, Gawain's father King Lot of Orkney, to peace, but despite three-hundred knights leaving the rebels to join Arthur, believing Merlin's words, he refuses. Everyone is at a loss for what to do, ready to give up. Arthur tries to fire up the other students. His charged speech fails, and if not for the teachers they probably would have set on him and handed him over to the rebel kings. Balan and Balin enter just then and hear Arthur's desire and plan. They agree to help. To Arthur's dismay, it appears they may be the only backup he'll have. He's pretty sure they're all going to die, but he won't give up. He's king, these are his people whether he likes it or not, and his job is to do whatever he can to keep them alive. He takes Balin and Balan and the three begin plotting out a course of action. Soon one is reached. Use Gawain and his brothers as a bargaining chip. Arthur refuses to do this unless they agree. He goes to them with the plan, and Gawain takes the lead, backing the king whole-heartedly. His brothers reluctantly follow.

Holding Gawain and his brothers, and the sons of two other kings, Nentres and Uriens, above the heads of the rebels, is promising, but the kings are proving hard to crack. With the plan at risk of failing, Balin and Balan come up witih a contingency and move to carry it out. Arthur delays the rebel kings, pressing his plan still, and for a minute it seems they are ready to back down until Lot's wife Morgause makes the scene, and she's not as concerned with the safety of her sons as their father is, challenging Arthur to go through with it. Lot is outraged at this, but when Arthur doesn't do it, the bluff is called. War is inevitable, and Arthur knows time's running out. Now it's up to Balin and Balan to neutralize the threat. While he waits for their return, he confronts Morgan about a secret she's been hiding from him. She has a child by Uriens, Ywain, and another who isn't hers but is still Uriens' names Yvain. When he sees the way she treats Yvain, he becomes disillusioned with his sister and things get tense. Elsewhere, Balan and Balin's plan to make the enemy army high as kites so they're sluggish and slow works. Pellinore orders the knights to arm themselves, but Arthur slips out with Balin and Balan to try once more to get Lot to retreat before there has to be death. In Lot's encampment, he discovers something he isn't prepared for. There's a sixth child belonging to Lot, Loholt, who resides in his tent. Lot refuses to back down, but asks that Arthur take the child back to the school where he can be safe with his brothers. Arthur agrees to do so. It isn't long before Lot and the other rebel kings are rode on, and Worcestershire is ultimately victorious, driving them away. Arthur is cheered by the people of the surrounding town. The students of Worcestershire are silent on the matter. During the celebration feast, Arthur sees Dagonet, Alymere, Balin, and Balan grouped together. Finally beginning to overcome his aversion to letting people in, he tentatively approaches them and attempts to join the conversation. Meanwhile, Lot's sons make their way back home to their father's palace and are greeted by their mother and father. Morgause quizzes them as to their opinions on the new king...

The Once and Future King - Act 3

Things in the school seem to be calming down. Arthur's started to let people in, scored a couple points with Guinevere finally, and things are okay. Behind the scenes, though, there's plotting. Agravaine is getting his spy on and hauling Mordred and Sagremore with him. Sagremore has a plan, Agravaine is colored intrigued. Sagremore takes his friend Daniel, Dinadan's other brother, along under a premise of hanging out, and tracks Arthur and company down to the river where they've decided to go swimming. Taunting and bullying on Sagremore's part escalates when Arthur's company snarks right back, and soon the hassling gets dangerous when Sagremore challenges Arthur to leap from high up a cliff into the river to prove he has the courage to defend his people. Arthur recklessly takes the challenge and promptly regrets it. Sagremore is goaded into going too, if he's making the king do it. Things go horribly wrong when the cliff collapses and sends Arthur plummeting into the river. Sagremore leaps in after him to save him, not desiring to cause Arthur's death. He saves the king, but soon he finds himself in trouble with Arthur his only hope. Daniel tosses Arthur a rope. Wrapping it around himself, Arthur goes in after Sagremore again, putting his trust in his friends to get them out alive. The two are swept over the falls, but Balin, Balan, Alymere, Dagonet, and Daniel hold fast, saving them from a fall to their death. As they dangle in the air they catch site of something nestled out of sight. An abandoned prison none of them knew existed.

Curiosity killed the cat, but the boys aren't aware of this saying apparently. They plunge right in, determined to see what it's all about. After fighting through a pair of golems, they find themselves stumbling upon a horror scene. Prison cells filled with skeletons and rotted bodies. Captives abandoned and left to die of starvation or dehydration. Horrified, they numbly go through in an effort to see if anyone's left alive. They soon determine no one is and turn to go. As they leave, though, they hear someone cry out to them. They race back and find, to their horror, a survivor in a bad, bad way, near death. They rescue him, not believing he'll survive the journey back but willing to at least try. He survives, and when he's recovered enough, he sends for them and tells them his story. His name is Petipace of Winchelsea, and he had led a force that dared stand against a warrior king by the name of Ryons, or Rience. Ryons utterly crushed them, imprisoning as many as the prison could hold, murdering the others, and having them tortured regularly. Petipace daily, given his role as their leader. Arthur, horrified, demands to know why King Harald and Queen Lillian did nothing, only to be informed they'd believed him a traitor and criminal too heinous to be remembered. They'd allowed everything, and Arthur is stunned to silence and angry, determined to get answers. He tasks Lucan to find information on the mysterious prison and the soldiers stationed there. On his way to deliver the info to Arthu, he runs across a man by the name of Brian of the Isles, a Lord with whom Lucan and his brother Bedivere are acquainted in only bad ways. After a cryptic threat, Brian - driven off by Bedivere who has come upon the scene - leaves Lucan be to continue on his way. The encounter, though, deeply shakes Lucan and Bedivere both. On the weekend, Lucan joins Arthur and Dagonet in their return to the palace. Lucan's behavior is strange and Arthur doesn't understand it. Dagonet gets an idea of what it means. Once there, Dagonet takes Lucan aside and Lucan finds quickly that Dagonet knows what he is. A slave. Dagonet reveals he was sold into slavery with his mother and came to be in Uther's palace. Uther was a good master, his mother always claimed, and fair. So were Lillian and Harald. Lucan in turn reveals that it was a debt that enslaved him, but offers no more information and refuses to open up further. For the time, Dagonet lets it go.

Arthur confronts Lillian about the prison and about Petipace of Winchelsea. Lillian shares her side of the story and reveals to Arthur they were in fact allies of King Rience. She tells him Far Far Away was in dire straights after Uther's death and that at the time they had little choice, but that they'd cut ties. However, they'd forgotten all about the fate of Petipace and his men and about the prison as a whole, as it wasn't under their supervision it had been built. They'd given Rience permission to build it and were involved no further. Infuriated with his aunt's confession, Arthur judges that she must face Petipace and look at what she did, as well as write letters to the families of the dead men that had been abandoned to die. Lillian, smiling, tells him he judged as a king, and Arthur is stunned. He hadn't even realized. Meanwhile, it's revealed Agravaine has been operating under Morgause's orders to make Arthur's life hell. Lot discovers this and is unimpressed, warning his son not to involve himself further. Agravaine is stubborn and Lot warns him to make a smart choice, but leaves it be and sends Mordred to act as a buffer between Agravaine and Morgause, who will no doubt be angered at her son's thus-far-failure. Mordred comes and shares some information he has picked up about Arthur too. Agravaine is impressed and low-key proud at how well Mordred's learned from him. He goes into Morgause. Mordred, not keen on the idea of Agravaine facing an angry Morgause alone, follows him in concern. Tension ensues.

Lillian accompanies Arthur back to Worcestershire to face Petipace. Before she can, though, Brian of the Isles arrives, demanding Lucan. Arthur asks Lillian why, and she says he's their master. Arthur goes down immediately to try and understand what's happening. Upon confronting Brian, Lucan, and Bedivere, it is revealed that their family owed him a debt they couldn't pay, and so their father had offered himself as Brian's slave. He was worked to death, but before he died he had made a contract with Uther that upon his demise, the rights to him and his family would go to Uther rather than Brian. Uther agreed and upon their father's death, put Lucan and Bedivere to school instead of taking them as slaves into his palace. The contract, though, had a time limit. When Uther died, his heir had a limited amount of time to pick up his contract. If it wasn't picked up, ownership of Bedivere and Lucan and their mother would revert to Brian. Lucan went to Brian and amended the contract to include only him, and Brian agreed, but time has run out and the contract hasn't been picked up by Arthur. Arthur, not even knowing of it until then because Lucan had chickened out each time he'd tried to say something, is low-key enraged and scoops up the contract in a heartbeat. He hates the concept of slavery, but senses Lucan will be far worse off. There is a tense standoff during which Arthur is backed by a group of unexpected allies. Among them is Lancelot himself, to Arthur's shock. Brian is driven off, and Arthur, royally ticked, orders Lucan to get inside. Bedivere, concerned for his brother, is reassured by Kay that Arthur doesn't even see in terms of slaves and nobility and that nothing bad will happen to Lucan. He encourages Bedivere to talk to Arthur, and Bedivere does, begging Arthur to take him a slave too so their unpayable debt might be worked off faster. Arthur, just plain done with all of it, throws up his hands and agrees, to Bedivere's deep gratitude.

Lillian is brought by Arthur to see Petipace. To her horror and guilt, the man is at most around Charming's age, or Fiona's. The air is uncertain, for a while, and Lillian concedes to finally hear Petipace's side of the story rather than believing Ryons'. Petipace tells her his side of the story. Lillian realizes this version is the true one and is deeply regretful as to her mistake and Harald's, despite not wanting to believe. When she asks him what tortures befell him, he tells her though dubs it back so as not to upset her too greatly. She is both grateful and upset he didn't. Grateful because she didn't want to know, upset because she probably deserved to hear every gory word of it instead of just a summary. When she tells him they should have heard him, he tells her it was likely best she hadn't, because then Rience would have rode against Far Far Away. He tells her that his freedom and honor and spirit was the price for their safety. Lillian is cut to the quick. Soon after, she rejoins Arthur and the two begin to talk until Arthur is alerted to the presence of more potential tormentors incoming. Hector, Bors, and Lionel, Lancelot's half-brother and two of his cousins. He braces for the worse, but they have no malicious intent. Arthur, though, unwilling to trust, is sharp with them and eventually drives them away, a little hurt and upset that he refuses to see their genuineness. Lillian is unimpressed and Arthur feels immediately guilty when she calls him out on his behavior. Before more can be said, King Galehaut arrives and Lillian goes on the defensive, to Arthur's confusion. Galehaut low-key threatens Arthur and when Arthur demands explanation is told Galehaut's being rid of him would probably be more a mercy killing than anything else, implying Arthur doesn't even know the extent of the enemies he has out there. He came to the throne at a dangers and unstable time Galehaut believes he isn't prepared for, and whatever fate Galehaut puts on him? It's nothing to what other enemies would. With those ominous words, he departs their company and Arthur is left uncertain, nervous, and afraid...


	3. Costly Loophole

Costly Loophole

"Ugh, how does one guy just up and vanish into thin air like that?" Accolon asked Kay and Arthur as they searched for Daniel.

"Have you _seen_ Agravaine when he enters spy mode?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah. Agravaine's one thing, but Daniel?" Accolon replied.

"He's so unnoticeable odds are we've walked right passed him more than once," Kay said.

"Will you quit being a jerk to him?" Arthur demanded with eyes narrowing at his foster brother.

"I'm just stating fact. The guy's a nobody, totally invisible. He could disappear off the face of the earth and the only people who'd even notice would be his brothers and Sagremore, if he was lucky," Kay said.

"Why don't you back the hell off him, Kay?!" Arthur said.

"Look, believe it or not I actually like Daniel, Artie," Kay defended. "It's not like I'd ever _want_ him to vanish, but ultimately it is what it is."

"It's sad but true. Daniel is dust in the wind," Accolon agreed. "And we can't spend anymore time looking for someone who doesn't want to be found. Classes are about to start."

Arthur sighed, bowing his head and feeling a bit guilty. Wow. He'd never known how bad Daniel actually had it… "Yeah, okay. I have to get to Guerilla Warfare. Guess I'll see you two around."

"Sooner than you think. I have it too," Accolon said. "Unfortunately, so do both Uriens and Nentres." Why Nentres? Because warfare and combat classes were two classes not bound by progression. It was mandatory for all and so mixed classes were the norm. The more variety there was, the closer to real life it would be.

"This day started out so well," Arthur lamented.

"Going plenty well for me. Court Etiquette is where _I'm_ heading. We're on the Parties and Dancing unit," Kay said, grinning triumphantly.

"Are you kidding me?" Arthur said. Shoot. He didn't even _get_ that class until next semester.

"Enjoy Guerilla Warfare," Kay said, waving and walking off with a smug smile.

"Lucky son of a…" Accolon began. He cut himself off. "Well, shall we?"

"Sure. Might as well get it over with," Arthur said.

"There's a field test today. Does that make it more tolerable?" Accolon asked.

"No! I haven't studied or anything," Arthur replied, looking a bit freaked out.

"Do you know any guerilla tactics?" Accolon asked.

"Well yeah, but…" Arthur began.

"Then you'll be fine," Accolon cut off. "Besides, we tackle it in teams."

"That's a good thing?" Arthur asked.

Accolon raised a dubious eyebrow. "When you get assigned to your group, don't let them know how apprehensive about it you are. Unless, you know, you want to go back to being bullied. That sounded really… royal. And not in the good way," he flatly stated.

Arthur blushed in embarrassment. "I didn't mean it like that! It's just I'm having a lot of problems with that class so any kind of test, group or solo, is not gonna be pretty for me. I'd rather humiliate myself in private than humiliate myself in front of a whole group. I'm a king. They'll figure stuff like this should be second nature to me, so when I fail it'll just show them how totally incompetent I am, and it'll destroy my credibility—or what little of it I have—and just… It's a problem, okay?! What kind of king doesn't know how to defend his own people?"

Accolon sighed. "Look, stop telling yourself you're doomed to fail. That's the first step to passing. Hey, if we can pick teams you can tag along with me. I'll make sure you don't screw up too horribly. I'm pretty good at guerilla tactics. I can help you out and cover for you if you make a mistake. That's what teams are for, covering each others' weaknesses and helping each other overcome them. Odds are no one else in that class will care enough to bother with you. It's too much fun to watch you squirm."

"Thanks," Arthur mumbled sheepishly.

"Look at it this way; Guerilla Warfare will give you practice in adaptability. Seems like a pretty good trait to have for someone in a position of power," Accolon stated.

"I have other classes for that," Arthur dryly said, grimacing.

KAK

Arthur sat in class fiddling nervously with his quill, really uncertain about what was going to happen. His teacher for this class, and unfortunately pretty well all warfare classes, was King Galehaut who, as previously established, absolutely hated his guts. Yeah, to say this class wasn't fun would be a gross understatement. He grimaced at the thought of the teacher who'd threatened him. More than once. And who he was willing to bet was plotting ways to utterly decimate him and Far Far Away at this moment.

The teacher walked in and Arthur straightened up, tensing. He knew immediately, from the way the guy looked at him, that this class was going to end up being absolute hell. Inwardly he groaned. Why did the man despise him so much? What had _he_ ever done to Galehaut? "Class," Galehaut greeted impersonally. "No doubt you've all prepared for your test today?" Silence. "How… reassuring," he said, unimpressed. "Review what we've learned so far. You have fifteen minutes in which to do so. Also, think about the teams you'd like to be in. This time I'm allowing you to choose. I'll come around and see if you're actually studying before the fifteen minutes is up. Should any of you be caught wasting time, twenty percent of your grade for this test will be forfeit. Wasting time in a guerilla situation, or really most any wartime situation, will get you killed. You're lucky distraction and time wasting aren't automatic fails, because thus far I'm not holding out high hopes for any of you.

The class pulled out their scrolls and books and began studying them intently as Galehaut watched from the front, scanning them all with a critical eye. His gaze fell on Uriens and Nentres. Two of the rebel kings right in the same class as the one they were riding against, and unable to do anything about it. Worcestershire was universally neutral ground. His jaw clenched subtly, then a dark smirk began to cross his lips as a plan formed. Loopholes were wonderful things, he decided. He approached them. Uriens, seated closest to the front, was the one to whom he went first.

As Galehaut approached, Uriens looked uneasily up. The man was intimidating, to say the least. And the sort of person you never, ever wanted to cross. His army was vast and powerful, and even should all the forces of the rebel kings combined ride against it, they would probably be cut down. There wasn't a king in all Britannia who didn't fear his name, up to and including that psychopath Rience. Except for Arthur. But then Arthur was oblivious and had no idea what he'd stepped into. "Sir?" Uriens guardedly questioned when Galehaut stopped near him.

"You will choose Arthur to join your team," the man said.

Uriens started and narrowed his eyes. "What?" he asked.

"You will choose Arthur to join your team," Galehaut repeated. "And Nentres, for that matter."

Uriens was quiet. "I don't understand what game you're playing. Nentres and I can't do anything to Arthur while we're here. Worcestershire is neutral ground. If we acted against him, I don't even want to _think_ of the repercussions," he said.

"Worcestershire may be neutral ground, but you're not going to _be_ on Worcestershire ground for this test," Galehaut said, smirking. Uriens started and seemed a bit taken aback by the deviousness of the statement. "If I'm being totally honest, I _don't_ want Arthur dead, necessarily. All I want from him is recognition of my overlordship and his subsequent submission. However, should something tragic befall him anyways, it would be an… acceptable if regretful loss."

"Are you… serious?" Uriens asked. "You're giving me permission to take the guy out?"

"It's what the rebel kings want, no?" Galehaut asked. "I would advise against death, until deliberation with King Lot, but once you're off Worcestershire grounds, it's out of my hands what you do with him." Uriens sat still and stunned. "Consider it," Galehaut said, walking passed him and going to Nentres. No doubt to deliver the same message.

KAK

"You will choose Arthur to join your team. And Uriens," Galehaut said to Nentres. Nentres froze. Being the older and more experienced one between him and Uriens, and subsequently quicker to understanding, he needed no further elaboration. That was plain to see for Galehaut. What Galehaut didn't like, though, was Nentres's silence on the matter and lack of response. "Is there a problem, Nentres?" he asked.

Nentres finally sighed, laying down his quill and entwining his fingers beneath his chin as he considered this proposition. "He was the only one who bothered trying to talk Elaine out of taking Galeschin away from me, when she stormed out in anger… I feel I owe him _something_ for that," he finally replied.

"You owe him nothing. Showing mercy to a man who is at war with him was Arthur's mistake. But if you absolutely must be honorable towards the king you are freely and eagerly betraying—and for what reason you want to deal fairly with the ruler you plan to usurp I can't fathom—then catch him alive and perhaps let whatever companion he may have along with him go free," Galehaut said.

Nentres was quiet. "Very well, Galehaut," he finally said. Galehaut nodded and left. Nentres let out a shaky breath, massaging his temples. What was he doing going soft on Arthur? He knew better than to go soft on enemies. When you did, you ended up regretting it always… Right…?

Galehaut finished the walkthrough of the class, pausing at Arthur. His jaw twitched slightly as he scanned the young king's notes. After a moment he sighed. "You're confused with this I see," he said. Arthur started and looked up at him borderline fearfully, but quickly fear turned to defense and defiance, just in case Galehaut tried to pull something. Galehaut rolled his eyes. "On campus, Arthur, I'm still generally a teacher. Now let me help you clear this up. Guerilla warfare isn't only about taking out a larger army with a smaller one. It's more in depth than that. They also strive to win popular support and political influence, taking that support away from their opponent. They don't take on the bulk of an army, instead they find smaller scouting groups, or find supply lines, and they hit _them_. It's not spring on the army from nowhere and disappear. It's pick off small bits and pieces as opportunity arises. Similar to underground work."

"Oh, uh, th-thanks, Sir Galehaut," Arthur replied. Galehaut nodded. He stayed a little longer, picking out mistakes in Arthur's notes and helping correct them, then moved on to finish up his walkthrough. He'd give Arthur this, the boy had become a much better student since the reality of being king had hit him. A pity it should all go to waste. Perhaps the teen could have one day had potential to be an actually worthy opponent.

Galehaut returned to the front of the class. "Alright, review is finished. Now it's time for each of you to get into teams. Have decisions been made?" Accolon raised his hand. "Accolon," Galehaut said.

"For certain Arthur will be on my team," he said. "We decided that earlier today."

"Of course you did," Uriens said, scoffing. "Okay, fine. I'll join Accolon and Arthur along with Nentres. There, our group's done."

"No victimizing Accolon," Galehaut warned, frowning. Arthur grimaced, noting the man hadn't said no victimizing him.

"Can I appeal this decision?" Arthur asked.

"No," Galehaut flatly answered.

Arthur sighed, banging his head on his desk. Of course not. Okay, Worcestershire was neutral ground. Two kings out for his blood were on his team sure, but hey Worcestershire was neutral. He almost burst into laughter at the absurdity of that concept. Though to be totally fair to the school, when they called it universally neutral ground they _meant_ universally neutral. Since its founding, if he recalled correctly, no one had ever violated that unspoken rule, even worst enemies. Well, up until Lot had marched on the dump, but hey, even Lot had hesitated to carry it out given his familial ties to the place, and in the end he'd ultimately been driven back anyway, so give credit where credit was due, he supposed.

KAK

Soon the groups had all gotten together and were awaiting their area assignments. Galehaut handed the locations out to everyone. Nentres took theirs when Galehaut reached them, scanning it curiously. "Hmm, not a tough location but not an easy one either," he said.

"Where is it?" Accolon questioned. Nentres handed it over to the other. Accolon scanned the paper.

"The cliffs," Nentres answered. "We're to tackle it as if an enemy army just beached on the shore and set up camp there.

"No cover. This is supposed to be medium level?" Arthur asked dubiously.

"There are more than enough rocks and crevasses to hide in. An even smarter tactic would be to hole up in a cove and wait for a scouting party to happen by, then wipe them out or take them prisoner," Nentres said.

"Oh. What are the chances of being able to strip their armor and infiltrate the enemy army?" Arthur asked. They all looked at him in vague surprise. "What?" Arthur asked.

"That's… actually not even considered in Galehaut's notes," Nentres answered.

"Probably because when role call came they'd be screwed unless they found out the names of the guys they killed or captured," Uriens said.

"Keep them alive it might not be too hard to figure out, and even if they didn't break, you could still do a lot of damage in the short time you'd go undetected," Accolon pointed out.

"It would be a suicide mission," Uriens protested.

"Not if you played it super safe," Arthur said. "Get out when people started asking questions."

"Not bad," Nentres said, begrudgingly impressed.

"Then we'll practice it as one of the tactics we rehearse," Uriens said, sighing in exasperation. "But we need three more methods to try besides."

"Water attack, cliff attack, trail attack?" Accolon offered.

"Sure, why not? We can change it up later if we decide to," Nentres said. "Get together the supplies you think will be needed and we'll meet at the front gates in an hour." The others nodded in agreement and Accolon and Arthur left to get their things. Uriens and Nentres stayed put, watching them go.

KAK

When Accolon and Arthur had vanished from sight, Uriens turned to Nentres. "Galehaut's all but handed us Arthur's head on a silver platter," he said, smirking. "We'd best not waste the opportunity. I can't believe we didn't think of it before. A loophole so small and yet so devastating… We should send to Lot."

"We will. We'll send him Arthur in chains. Or, if capture proves impossible, we'll send him in a burial shroud," Nentres replied.

"That got dark fast," Uriens said, raising an eyebrow.

"As if you weren't thinking the same," Nentres said.

"I suppose," Uriens replied. "I mean, to a degree at least. I can't believe something this big was missed in the rules."

"When they said Worcestershire would be universally neutral ground, they should have elaborated on just what constituted 'Worcestershire grounds'. I'd say beyond the ancient ruins Arthur's fair game," Nentres said, smirking.

"And I'd agree," Uriens said with a grin. "The boy who would be king is as good as ours. Now let's get what we need, summon our men to be on standby, and go to meet our 'teammates'." Nentres nodded and the two separated to gather the items they'd need…

 _But from around a corner someone listened and heard it all…_

"Oh no… I have to tell someone," the eavesdropper whispered to himself. Immediately he raced off to do just that.

KAK

Elsewhere, Lancelot and the rest of the jousting team were practicing in the field, preparing for a big tournament that was coming up soon. "So, Lance, anything interesting happen earlier today?" Brunor le Noir casually asked.

Lancelot paused, frowning to himself. "Nothing of importance," he flatly said, playing dumb. He knew exactly where Brunor was going with this.

"Oh really? Nothing of importance, huh?" Brunor asked.

"Yep. There was this one major freak of a loner who was just ripe for the picking. Perfect target," another jock replied, one who was tight with Lancelot. Galihoden, the Count of Honolan.

Brunor shot him a dagger glare, eyes narrowed darkly. "Freak of a loner, huh?" he icily asked.

"His own brothers can't tolerate being around him more than five minutes before they're bored to tears by him and dump him to fend for himself," Galihoden replied, crossing his arms and smirking icily and challengingly. "You know how it goes. Pick off the sick, the weak, and the undefended; the strays who wander off too far from protection, and who no one bothers to try and find and guide back to the herd before the hunters come out."

"He has a herd?" Brandelis asked, smirking coldly. "Never would have guessed. If him and his brothers were baby birds, he'd be the one they pecked to death in the nest. Surprised the stronger chicks _didn't_ just do that from the start and get it over with. No, they had to drag it out and leave it to someone else to do." He yelped as suddenly his head was dunked underwater in a horse trough and held down. He struggled frantically and soon the person seized a handful of his hair and dragged him out of it as he coughed and sputtered and gasped before focusing in on who it had been. He scowled. Sagremore. Of course. He could have scoffed.

"Let's make the picture plenty clear for you. The next time you, _any_ of you, put a finger on Daniel, you'll be wishing to the gods you hadn't," Sagremore evenly threatened. Brunor was using every ounce of willpower he possessed to refrain from fruitlessly attempting to take on the others single handed and trying to beat them to a pulp.

Lancelot scowled and looked about ready to retort when suddenly a voice called, "Lancelot! Lancelot, emergency! Something big is going down!"

Lancelot looked quickly over, tensing. "Hector, what's happening? Are you hurt? Being chased?" he asked, not liking the sound of emergency.

"No, no, this isn't about me. This is about Arthur!" Hector replied.

" _That's_ an emergency?" Lancelot asked dubiously.

"Yes! They're planning to capture or kill him, Nentres and Uriens. They were grouped together with Arthur and Accolon for some field assignment, and they were talking about some loophole in the system. Something like, since Worcestershire is universally neutral ground, they can't touch him, but once they get passed the ancient ruins they won't technically still _be_ on Worcestershire grounds, so Arthur will be fair game. I think they plan to have their men on standby to capture or kill him and send what's left back to King Lot as a prize!" Hector urgently said.

"What?! They're dead men!" Kay freaked, leaping up in alarm. Gawain rose in concern along with Bedivere and Tristan.

"Oh please. Good riddance. That loser will finally be out of our hair," Lancelot said.

"Screw you Lance!" Kay furiously shouted.

"I'm with him!" Hector said in appal, visibly shocking Lancelot. Bohort as well. "Screw you Lance! He's the king! You're knights in training. It's your whole job to try and protect him and save him from his enemies, and you're what, just gonna sit pretty behind the walls and let them have him?! What kind of would-be knights are you?!"

"De kind dat don't goes after lost causes," Bleoberis, the largest of them, said plainly.

"It's your job!" Hector insisted.

"To protect a king. Which Arthur decidedly isn't. He just wishes he was," Brandelis said with a scoff.

"Enough!" Lancelot shot, glaring at Hector a cross between annoyed and impressed at his brother's boldness. The others looked at him curiously. "The boy's right. To defend the king is our job. So, we'll do it. Grounding Nentres and Uriens into the dirt will totally be more than enough fun to make up for the inconvenience of saving the school loser. We were heading off-campus anyway. Let's think of this as… intense practice." They seemed a bit more okay with it when it was put in those terms, and in not long all of them had agreed and were quickly getting ready to go ride out after the king.

KAK

Arthur, Accolon, Nentres, and Uriens made their way through the ruins, heading towards the forest. "So, what's the plan for the water, cliff, and trail attacks?" Arthur asked Nentres, genuinely curious. "I mean water's self-explanatory I guess, but cliff and trail kind of seem like same thing."

Nentres raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh, a cliff attack could possibly be a man-made rockslide, or scaling down in the night to stab as many as possible before scaling back up, or raining arrows down on them. A trail attack would be taking a lesser-known trail and using it as cover. Even if they found out where you were coming from and tried to get you, a narrow pass is an ideal place for a small group to pick off huge numbers with little effort. If we can hold a narrow pass, our enemies won't stand all that great a chance. If we can hide the mouth of the trail, it would be a perfect focal point from which to carry out night attacks."

"A sea cave would be perfect, then," Arthur said. "Like, a passage that comes out a sea cave."

"That would be ideal. Caves are easier to hide than trails," Nentres replied as they left the ruins.

"Don't be nervous, Arthur. You won't have to worry about this assignment for long," Uriens said, smirking to himself.

"I'm not worried! I'm just… unsure," Arthur said.

"You'll do fine," Accolon promised as they entered the woods. "We're here to help you out and you're here to help us out. That's what teams are for."

"If I were with people I trusted maybe I'd be all for that," Arthur replied. "I'm stuck in a group consisting of two rebel kings after my head, and a guy who I definitely trust more than them, but who's still shady enough to sleep with my sister all but in front of her husband's face without any sign of the slightest regret. I hope it's there, but I'm not holding my breath."

"Thank you!" Uriens said to Arthur. He turned on Accolon angrily. "So don't you even _think_ about putting yourself in a trustworthy category, you backstabbing son of a bitch," he snapped.

"Easy Uriens," Nentres said, frowning at his younger friend.

"Bite me," Uriens replied, rolling his eyes.

"Wow we get along great," Arthur flatly said. "Gods, even allies are nipping at each others' throats."

"It's the Worcestershire mentality, it seems," Accolon said, grimacing. "For what it's worth, I don't begrudge you siding against me on the whole Morgan thing. I'm not gonna say I don't deserve it, because I do. I definitely do."

"Oh will you shut up, Accolon? Unless your plan's to drop Morgan like a hot potato and never touch her again, you don't get to play it like you feel any sort of remorse. Playing the humble card is a crock and we all know it. If you really realized you deserved it, you wouldn't still be sleeping with my wife," Uriens said.

"In his defense the blame's not entirely on him," Nentres spoke up.

"Nope. It's on my sister too big time," Arthur said. "Eh, best face it, Uriens. She's just got no respect for you."

"Screw you Arthur," Uriens replied sharply.

"Wow you're a salty bastard, aren't you?" Arthur said.

"The only bastard in this group, Artie, is you," Uriens sneered.

"Take that back!" Arthur shot angrily.

"Like hell I will!" Uriens replied.

"Look out!" Accolon suddenly said, quickly moving in front of Uriens, Nentres, and Arthur, sword drawn. The other three sharply turned and gasped, stiffening. There, emerging from the forest, was a group of knights clad in armor! It was obvious they weren't friendly.

Uriens blinked blankly at Accolon. "What are you doing?" he asked dubiously.

"Since it looks like the ones getting ambushed in this test are us, I'm attempting to do the job I've been trained for. Making sure the kings I'm sworn to protect get out alive," Accolon replied.

"Don't waste your breath on Uriens and I. Your concern, Accolon, is Arthur solely, if you want to do your job," Nentres said, approaching the men and pushing passed the slightly surprised Accolon. Nentres faced the leader of the knights. "Your timing is spot on. We're just far enough away that we won't be heard if a fuss is put up."

KAK

Arthur and Accolon gawked for a moment, not quite processing what had just happened. "Wait, what? Nentres?" Accolon asked, tensing up a bit. Arthur bitterly chuckled behind him. It was apparent _he_ understood what was happening now. Upon realizing that, Accolon caught on as well. "You-you… Oh shit. You snakes!" Accolon shot, spinning on Uriens with eyes flashing viciously.

"Oh come on, you thought we'd let this opportunity slide?" Uriens said, moving around him and joining Nentres with a satisfied smirk. "Worcestershire may be neutral ground, but guess where we're not anymore."

"Son of a… Damn it," Arthur whispered under his breath.

"Do your job all you want, Accolon. You'll just end up a casualty in the process. And I can't say I'd shed a tear for you," Uriens said.

"Wouldn't you? Think real hard about that," Accolon replied, eyes narrowed.

"What? You're playing up the best friend angle? Please. You screwed that relationship up when you started sleeping with my wife," Uriens said, looking away from Accolon and closing his eyes to hide any hints of hurt that would have otherwise shown.

"Wait, you were his best friend? _Seriously_ dude? Who sleeps with their best friend's wife?!" Arthur demanded.

Accolon blushed deeply and ashamedly and chose to say nothing to that. Instead he focused on Uriens's words. "If that's so, then kill me with your own hand," he said.

"Oh, it'll be my pleasure," Uriens replied, drawing his sword easily.

"Seize the young king! Alive if possible, but if you really must then death will be just fine too," Nentres ordered the men. Immediately they moved to seize Arthur.

Arthur grabbed Accolon's arm and bolted into the forest, dragging the surprised knight-in-training along. "Keep up!" Arthur ordered.

"Make your escape alone, Arthur! I can hold them back and keep them from you as long as possible," Accolon protested.

"You're more use to me at my side than standing your ground, Accolon. I mean what if there are more camped out here? If you wanna be my bodyguard, fine, be my bodyguard. Don't try and compensate for a whole company of knights with just yourself," Arthur replied. "You're not fighting them solo any more than I am."

Accolon nodded. "If it comes down to it, to a point we have no choice, then don't stay by my side. You need to get away, Arthur! You _need_ to," he said. "If you're thinking of trying to stay to help me, don't. You'll just doom yourself _and_ Far Far Away." Arthur's lack of response was _not_ sitting well with Accolon. "Uriens won't kill me, okay?! He claims he will, but he won't." Of course, if he did Accolon knew that he'd definitely deserve it, despite what Uriens thought. In fact, Accolon almost _hoped_ the guy went through with it; but he'd stake his life—which he guessed technically he was doing—on the opposite happening. "You, though, are another story completely!"

"Just focus on staying ahead. If we can reach Worcestershire, we can…" Arthur began. He yelped as a sword struck a tree right in front of him, and leapt back. A line of knights spilled from the trees, blocking their way to the school, and Arthur and Accolon broke for the ocean and slid to a stop with gasps when they instead ended up at trapped by a rockface! They must have gotten tuned around. Dammit! They gawked in disbelief and spun with gasps as from the woods marched the knights. To the front of them came Uriens and Nentres. Accolon pushed Arthur back, getting quickly in front and drawing his sword.

"Don't make us laugh, Accolon. You stand no chance," Nentres said. "You alone can't protect the king. Get out of the way, or we'll put you down. We want Arthur alive preferably. Do you really want to give your life when death isn't even necessarily in the cards for him?"

Accolon looked nervously around but held his ground. "Stand down, Accolon," Arthur said in concern, looking both surprised and touched at the gesture of loyalty from a guy he barely knew except through school. "Maybe you _are_ up to giving your life for that, but _I'm_ not." He looked at Nentres and Uriens. "Let him go and I'll surrender," he said.

"Just grab them both," Uriens said with a scoff. "Kind of _wanna_ drag Accolon back home in chains.

"Your wife has the strangest kinks. Or maybe it's you who does," Nentres said, grimacing.

Uriens blinked then blushed furiously. "I don't mean I want him in chains so I can hold him over her head like blackmail! I can get my fill of my wife without playing rough. I _can_!" Uriens insisted.

"Oh kid, you're so innocent," Nentres flatly said.

"I am not!" Uriens said.

"In this regard you most definitely are," Nentres replied. Uriens looked totally lost, as did Arthur. Accolon face-palmed, shaking his head hopelessly.

"You know what? Forget it. Grab the king and his protector now!" Uriens ordered heatedly, pointing.

KAK

The knights advanced, but just then they heard thundering hooves from behind and spun. From the forest, with screeching whinnies, leapt twelve warhorses, charging the knights. They scattered out of the way with shouts of surprise as the horses barrelled through them and as blades and weapons flashed out of sheaths. The horses turned around once they were in front of Arthur and Accolon, and the knights and two kings gawked up in shock and disbelief.

"What the…?" Arthur began.

"Wart!" a voice exclaimed. Arthur went beet red, tensing at the nickname. Oh no.

"Kay, no!" he protested in horror.

" _Wart_?" another asked, removing his helmet. Arthur nearly died. Lancelot. "Are you kidding me right now? He began to laugh. Arthur seriously considered throwing himself at Nentres and Uriens' feet and begging them to take him captive just so he could get far away from here.

"What's the story behind _that_?" another arrival asked dubiously. Bedivere, Arthur realized. He recognized the voice. Kay winced.

 _"_ _Kay, Kay, what is it?!" little Arthur shrieked in terror as he ran into Kay's room._

 _"_ _What are you talking about, Artie?" Kay asked curiously, looking angrily up, annoyed at being disturbed._

 _"_ _Morgan chanted something and I got_ _ **this**_ _!" Arthur cried, showing his finger._

 _Kay blinked on seeing the bump. "Arthur, it's just a wart. Calm down," he replied, annoyed._

 _"_ _A wart? I can't get a wart! Only toads have warts! Oh no, what if she's turning me into a toad or a frog!" Arthur exclaimed in terror. He screamed and began running around the house crying, "I have a wart, no! Wart! Wart, wart, wart!" Kay blankly watched him, as did the rest of the palace._

"Uh, I'll tell you later," Kay said, quickly changing the subject. Arthur looked like he wanted to drop dead.

"Take me!" Arthur pled to Nentres and Uriens. "I will give myself to you giftwrapped!"

"Didn't know you naughty kings were into that kind of thing," another of the arrivals, Sagremore Arthur recognized, said.

"What are you talking about?" Uriens said.

Nentres blushed, embarrassed for his friend, and sighed heavily, shaking his head. "Just don't talk, Uriens," he said.

"You'll come no closer to the king," Gawain said from his horse, sword at the ready.

"What can thirteen knights and one king do against a battalion?" Nentres challenged, gesturing around. "Give up and live, or stay and die."

"You know, horses are real handy for giving a guy an advantage," Lancelot replied.

"We don't have to worry about all of your men. We only need focus on the leaders," Tristan said, pointing his spear and Uriens and Nentres.

"With or without us alive, they'll cut you down," Nentres answered, eyes narrowed. "I'll say it again. Give us Arthur or die." He made a gesture and all the men drew their swords and spears, ready to fight.

"Look, stand down! I'm not gonna be responsible for a massacre!" Arthur protested immediately, pushing ahead of Accolon. "Lancelot please, you don't even like me! Definitely not enough that you'd put your friends and family at risk of death." Lancelot stared at him with an eyebrow raised, vaguely surprised at his plea. He… hadn't expected it. At all.

"You're kidding yourself if you think the jousting team are friends with one another," Accolon said, scoffing. "When push comes to shove, they're the last group you'd see stick together through hell or high water. They'd gladly trample one another underfoot to escape. All for themselves, no one for one. Gawain might, just _might_ , be an exception. Possibly Bors, Bohort, whatever he goes by."

"What?" Arthur asked.

"They put on a show, Arthur. They always have," Uriens spoke up, rolling his eyes. "The only thing they're united in is the putting down of the underdogs. Long as they're on top, they'll stay at one another's side, but soon as they hit rock bottom, it's every man for himself."

"Lancelot's good at a lot of things, but inspiring undying loyalty isn't one of those things," Accolon agreed. Arthur looked shocked. The jousting team had always seemed so tight though! Man, _everything_ was a lie. Or he was just totally blind. That was possible he guessed.

"Shut! Up!" Lancelot shouted at Uriens and Accolon both. "Now back off or die! _That's_ your choice you rebel scum!"

"Kill them," Uriens said with a scoff, waving his hand dismissively. He hesitated a second. "Unless you can get them alive," he threw quickly in.

"No wait, I'll go with you!" Arthur said in concern, moving forward again.

"Like hell!" Kay said, reaching down and scooping up Arthur. Arthur yelped as Kay yanked him onto his horse and kicked it into action, charging the knights. They scattered with cries of alarm as the horse barrelled down on them. They could kill it from under the two, they knew, but horses were a resource and Nentres and Uriens had said they wanted the king and company alive anyway, so they were playing it cautious. Maybe overly so.

"Kay!" Arthur protested. The jousting team, stunned for a second, quickly followed Kay's lead in the mad dash for escape. Galihoden seized Accolon's arm, pulling him up onto his horse and following a bit behind.

"Sorry Wart, not losing my brother to those two creeps. Not like this!" Kay replied.

"Blow the cavalry horn!" Nentres shouted, scowling.

"We have cavalry?" Uriens asked, visibly surprised.

"You'll learn my tricks as you get older and become a more experienced king," Nentres said, smirking almost affectionately. "Glean what pearls you can from me now and you'll really get a leg up. Always, always, have cavalry on standby. No matter how small the mission may seem to be." The horns blew loudly. Another horn sounded back. "Let _this_ be Arthur and his guardians' lesson in guerilla warfare," Nentres added. Two whinnies sounded and Uriens looked over quickly. A pair of knights emerged, leading two horses. "Another pearl for you to glean. Always keep a horse at the ready."

"Whoa…" Uriens said. How had Nentres arranged all this so efficiently?!

"Mount up. We ride after Arthur now," Nentres said, mounting one of the horses. Uriens shook out of his surprise and quickly followed the older one's lead, leaping onto the second. The two raced in the direction the knights had ridden, their battalion following as quickly as they could manage to on foot.

* * *

 **RECAP OF BOOK TWO**

#2: Excalibur - Act 1

Opening in King Uther's time, Uther is at war with Gorlois's son Cador of Cornwall, and their history is delved into, Uthers, Cador's - Arthur's half-brother by Igraine - and Caracoc's, aka Carados. Next a little of Arthur's history after his pulling the sword from the stone is revealed, and it isn't pretty. Arthur wakes up, present day, from a terrifying nightmare he's had, deeply shaken and disturbed by it. It feels like it was more than just a nightmare, but he doesn't take the time to think too long on it. Meanwhile, Agravaine confronts Gawain with how chummy he's gotten with Arthur, unimpressed. They discuss the matter, then discuss their mother's disturbing obsession with Mordred, before getting ready to return to school. There is a hunting test today, and Gawain will be sharing it with Arthur. He considers it an opportunity to maybe get closer to him, but Lancelot is also there with a group of friends, and Gawain is instead obliged to go with him, leaving Arthur to travel with the sons of King Pellinore, Aglovale, Dornar, Tor, Lamorak, and Percival. Shortly in Arthur spies a heart and breaks away from the others to pursue it and catch it for the test. He chases it until his horse can go no further, and finally manages to bring it down. The horse is too exhausted to go back now, though, and so is he, and so he decides to spend a bit of time there recovering his energy. While there he briefly encounters a strange beast, but it leaves quickly, staying unaware of his presence. Once he's sure it's gone, he lays back to rest. Again he dreams. This time about his father. Uther's history is delved into more, as well as his relationship with Ector and a young Arthur, right up to his abandoning Arthur at Worcestershire. Ector remembers Merlin's journey into the soul, but this time sees more...

As Arthur rests, a mysterious knight finds him and wakes him and asks him about a beast, the one Arthur saw. Arthur tells him what little he knows and offers to pursue it for the man, but he refuses and instead decides to take Arthur's horse despite Arthur's protests. Left horseless and with a hart he still has to cart back, things look dim. Gawain arrives and Arthur tells him what happened and asks him to get him a horse. Gawain agrees and rides off leaving Arthur alone again. Arthur settles in to wait and maybe rest, and while doing so remembers the past between him and Morgause and what she did to him, drugging him and sleep with him. A boy around his age appears. The boy tells him who his father and mother are, to Arthur's shock, and he thinks the kid's lying because Arthur doesn't even know. When he hears his mother's name, he is horrified. Igraine is Morgause's mother, and what Morgause has done to him? It means the kind of horrible he never wanted. The boy leaves Arthur distraught, and in his place an old man comes and asks him why he's sad. Arthur blurts out what happened, and to his dismay the man confirms what the boy told him and then more. He tells Arthur that the night he lay with Morgause, there was a child conceived, and that that child will one day destroy him, his kingdom, and all his knights. Arthur, overwhelmed, collapses to his knees in grief and anguish. The man tells him that was what his nightmare alluded to. Arthur demands to know who he is, and he reveals himself as Merlin and apologizes to the distraught boy, but tells him that things have begun to move too fast for these kinds of secrets to keep being kept from Arthur. Then he tells Arthur something that cuts him right to the heart. Ector has known all of this and never told him. So did Morgan and Ulfius and Brastias, two knights who've been with him through all of this. Feeling betrayed, Arthur lashes out. Merlin clarifies things further, telling him that say for Morgan his siblings think he's dead, and that until Merlin told Uriens, Nentres, and Lot at the battle that Arthur was their brother-in-law, they'd had no clue, and that none of his nephews know they're his nephews yet either. He reminds Arthur of Mayday but doesn't tell him quite everything. Then Gawain comes upon the scene and sees what's happening. Concerned for Arthur, he tries to get information, but Arthur flees without telling him anything. Merlin prompts him to go after Arthur, telling him he's going to need him really bad soon, and so Gawain pursues the young king.

Upon returning to Worcestershire, Arthur freaks out as his foster father and all but rejects him, fleeing from the man. Ector is devastated. Arthur tries to hide away alone, but Kay tracks him down with Gawain and demands answers. Arthur tells him nothing and Kay, angry, leaves. Gawain stays, and he doesn't go until Arthur opens up. Arthur tells him that Uther was his father and confesses his mother was Igraine. Gawain realizes immediately what it means. He knows, now, that Arthur is his uncle. Arthur tells Gawain his feelings about it, and Gawain sympathizes and tells him he feels betrayed and lied to too, and promises that he'll be here for Arthur. He suggests Arthur make arrangements to have the family over at his castle and then tell them everything there all together, thinking it might be easier. Arthur considers it and thanks Gawain, then goes to confront Ector, Ulfius, and Brastias about what they knew. They confirm everything Merlin has told him, and Arthur shares his plan to have a reunion in Far Far Away. He departs Gawain's company, once he's arranged it, and goes to see the school councillor Bors the Elder, Lancelot's Uncle and Bohort and Lionel's father, wryly noting the irony in his trusting the relative of his worst enemy more than his own right now. He tells Bors, vaguely, what happened to him. Bors understands and offers support.

The reunion occurs, Igraine arriving with all her children, Cador of Cornwall, Elaine, Morgause, and Morgan, and all their children. After a tense confrontation between Igraine and the knight Ulfius, Merlin reveals that Arthur is Igraine's son. Igraine is overjoyed and embraces her child adoringly. Cador and Elaine are equally overjoyed. Morgause is horrified as she realizes what she's done. Elaine become infuriated with her husband, Nentres, for not telling her this, and likewise Morgause with Lot. Tension ensues. A lot of it... Lot and Morgause, or Anna, get into a fight that escalates to the point Lot is willing to call off the war with Arthur altogether, but Morgause doesn't want that and she stops Lot in his tracks, telling him who Mordred's father is and lying to him about what happened to result in his conception. Her lie fuels Lot's wrath, and he becomes more determined than before to put Arthur down. He gets Uriens back on board, but Nentres proves harder to convince, as Elaine is furious and is threatening to take their son Galeschin from him. Nentres isn't willing to lose his family in a war for a boy who rightfully has claim to the throne. The only reason he'd agreed before was because he believed Arthur wasn't the real heir. Lot shares with Nentres what Morgause told him, and Nentres, though still reluctant, agrees. For a little while he's resolved, until Elaine does go to take Galeschin away and the only one who stands for him and stops her is Arthur. Nentres from then on feels more than a little conflicted over all of this. Arthur and Cador have a bonding moment, and meanwhile Morgause is grooming Mordred for something far more sinister... After Lot confront's Arthur and reiterates his determination to go to war, Arthur is again shaken. Then he goes to meet up with his nephews, along with Cador, and things almost get bad before Kay arrives and orders them to back off. Kay, jealous of Arthur's bond with Cador, attempts to get Arthur to come back to school with him and Ector, but Cador convinces Arthur to stay and Kay's jealousy grows. Kay storms off in a snit, leaving Arthur a bit hurt, but Cador reassures him. Kay is pulled aside by Lillian and is told to bring a message to Bedivere and Lucan, they're to return to the palace and help with the goings on here. Kay, though reluctant and vaguely disgusted at his best friend's new lot in life as a slave, begrudgingly agrees.

Excalibur - Act 2

Kay returned to Worcestershire with Ector and delivers Lillian's message to Bedivere, Dagonet, and Lucan. They depart shortly after with Lucan's friend Degore. Their cousin Griflet follows them on the sly with a recent graduate of Worcestershire by the name of Miles, for whom he's a squire. While they all get settled, Morgause gets to plotting with Agravaine and tasks her son to do a task for her. Poison the king. Agravaine doesn't like the idea, but Morgause assured him the poison is nonlethal and just designed to make Arthur look like a fool. Agravaine hesitantly agrees, but he gets a bad feeling about it. Before dinner Arthur holds court, and it is during court that a case comes up that shakes him, and his fellow schoolmates, to the core. Dinadan has been brought in looking the worse for wear, accused of assaulting a child. The rumors about him around Worcestershire lend themselves to that, but Arthur refuses to jump to conclusions and asks Dinadan point blank for his side of the story. Dinadan claims he saved the girl, not hurt her. He says it was her uncle who attempted the assault, and things get a lot more complex. It is argued that the story is too far-fetched, and Arthur determines to ask the little girl herself, but in the meantime send Dinadan to the dungeons for his own protection. He goes down to him to talk to him for himself and discuss the better course of action. Dinadan says the safest things for Arthur is to sentence them both to death just to cover all bases. Arthur refuses to. He sends Gawain, who has some knowledge of healing down to him to tend him. Not long after the trial commences and the girl is brought in. She confirms Dinadan's story and immediately the uncle is hunted down and brought back. Arthur throws him at the mercy of his brother, letting the girl's father decide his fate.

After the trial, the feast begins. There Degore and Arthur talk, and Degore admits he came with Dagonet, Bedivere, and Lucan because he wanted to see what kind of master Arthur was, and how he would treat them. Arthur is prompted to take the first bites as is custom, so he does. When he goes to drink, however, Degore suddenly takes his glass and drinks from it first. It takes all of two seconds, if that, for Arthur to realize what Degore has done. He's played cupbearer, risking his life to be sure the king will be alright. Arthur doesn't honestly think he's been poisoned, but he snaps at Degore for risking his life anyway. Then Degore starts to choke and react, and Arthur realizes in horror that he was wrong. The cup was poisoned after all. Panic ensues and quickly they rush to tend Degore. During the drama Agravaine is exposed, but he insists he didn't know the poison was deadly and lets slip that someone told him to do it. Questioned, he shuts up. His father, terrified for his son, is about to take the fall, but then Mordred takes it claiming he just wanted to see Arthur make a fool of himself and didn't know he'd grabbed a deadly poison and not a safe one. Agravaine is imprisoned in his room, Arthur and Lucan hover over Degore and Arthur lays into him for what he risked, but Degore doesn't regret it and claims he'd do it again happily because Arthur inspires loyalty. The way he treats Bedivere, Lucan, and Dagonet, and the way he handled Dinadan's trial, have left a lasting impression on Degore. Soon Arthur and Lucan leave Degore to rest, but someone slips into his room, undetected, and poisons him again, revenge on him for stopping Arthur's execution. When it's learned what has happened, and that Degore is dangerously close to death, they determine that somehow they need to find a way to save him, and send men to seek out Merlin who they know will be able to.

Lot delivers the news to Agravaine when he stops to see him. Agravaine begs his father to set up a meeting with Arthur. Lot does so, against his better judgement, and during that meeting declares he wants to be given the opportunity to find Merlin for Degore's sake, guilt eating him up. Dinadan returns then, demanding to know what the rumors of poisoning are all about. He'd feared it was Arthur who'd been poisoned because he'd let him go, but is informed of what happened. He offers to go with Agravaine to babysit, and Lucan insists on going as well despite the protests of his brother. Arthur relents and allows the expedition, and they head out immediately. They return to a tavern where Dinadan has made connections with there women, and soon get information on Merlin's whereabouts. Semi-hijacking a carriage - Lucan refuses to ride horses - they set off. They run across bandits and after a close call quiz them but get precious little. They eventually track Merlin down to a mountain pass that Agravaine has said he'll likely be at. They ask him to come back, but Merlin refuses until they get his back of herbs from inside. Herbs he claims are needed to save Lucan. Agravaine sets off alone, Dinadan and Lucan have done all they need to for this quest, but they soon follow which proves to be a good thing as they save him. They go deeper into the cave until they run across a goblin lair. The goblins have what they need, and they attempt to sneak their way to it but are captured and imprisoned. Dinadan cons his way into the Goblin Queen's bed, buying the others time to figure something out, and Agravaine manages to slip out and get possession of the herbs before returning to Lucan. Dinadan leaves and says he's bargained for their release, all of them, but the goblin queen changes her mind and decides she wants to keep Dinadan. Dinadan is unenthusiastic about the idea, although he's admittedly impressed with her prowess in bed, but the others refuse to leave him. She agrees to let them go in exchange for them finding her a goblin king who might be worth her time and could possibly match Dinadan's skill. They agree. She goes back on her agreement to let them take Merlin's herbs, but Agravaine has them already and they pretend not to know as much, agreeing. They get only a little ways before the goblins realize the herbs are gone and give chase.

The goblins come close to catching them, but just then Griflet and Miles make the scene, saving them from the creatures and accompanying them back out where Merlin is ecstatic they found his... tea leaves. They aren't impressed and book it back for the palace with Merlin, furious and wishing they could murder the guy but knowing he's Degore's only hope. Time is running short for Degore, and Merlin, sensing this, eventually teleports himself the rest of the way, freaking out Lucan who realizes it means Merlin thinks they're too late. They speed up more. Merlin makes it barely in time and it takes a lot for him to pull Degore back from death, but he manages to save his life and Degore immediately begins to recover. It turns out those 'tea leaves' were the herbs needed to save Degore after all and Merlin had just been playing the others. Tearful embraces ensue, and mass relief. The next day Agravaine is put on trial, to Lot's chagrin, but Arthur hands his punishment over to his parents, not inclined to make more of an enemy in Lot than he already has. Besides, Agravaine's earned that mercy for his part in saving Degore, whose recovering is coming along remarkably well and fast. Arthur and his company later observe the knights of Far Far Away and are utterly unimpressed. They go down, wipe the floor with all of them, Arthur determines his kingdom is doomed if they're attacked right now, and Lot is more than happy to agree with that, pleased at this state of affairs. They decide to all ride together into the forest for a bit where conversation ensues that hits all the wrong chords for Arthur, driving him to storm off alone. Griflet and Miles determine that they need to get on their way because their initial plan was to quest, and so they too depart the company of the others and head off to do so.

Excalibur - Act 3

In the woods, Arthur gets a little lost. It's getting dark and he really needs to find shelter, but he stumbles across a man who has been mugged and thrown into a ditch and stripped of everything of value. The men who did it are coming back to finish the job. Arthur scares them away and helps the man, bringing him to the Poison Apple which he knows is probably going to put his life in danger, but the man he's saved could be dying for all he knows, and he has to get him help. Sure enough, his presence isn't welcome, though with payment of a ring he secures medical aid for the stranger. He'd thrown into the cellar and locked there until they decide what to do with him. The man, meanwhile, recovers and demands to know where Arthur is being kept. Hook answers him and after some discussion, the man prepares to mount a rescue. His motives, though, aren't so much gratefulness as ambition. He saves Arthrur from death and the two make their escape, but during it the stranger's identity is revealed. Prince Charming! They get away and Charming talks Arthur into letting him remain in the palace as a mentor to him, to help him be a better king. Charming has had that experience and Arthur knows it would probably be really beneficial to him, so he agrees. They're found, eventually, by those who have been searching for them for days, and returned to the castle where Charming gets himself settled, if you can call it that.

Meanwhile, Miles and Griflet have come across a pavilion by a lake, where an unknown knight is. Miles goes to check it out and recognizes him immediately. Excited, he challenges him, but the other knight is reluctant, afraid to hurt or kill him. Miles shares his quest with the knight, and the knight knows, then, that it would be better for Miles to die at his hand than to go into that quest and be taken captive. At least if he dies fighting him, his name will be remembered. If he goes to where he intends to, to the land of Caradoc and Turquine, there will be no honor for his name. The knights spar, and the unknown knight's fears come true. He makes a mistake and gravely strikes Miles. Griflet arrives in time to see and panics. He almost goes at the knight, but the knight tells him if Miles has any hope, it will be in Camelot. Griflet takes Miles and rides back as fast as he can go, but the unknown knight senses there will be no recovery for Miles. And he's right. Shortly after arrival, Miles dies in Dinadan's arms and grief ensues. Griflet insists that he be allowed to avenge his master's death. Arthur delays answering until they can tend to Miles' body.

 _"If I do this, and make you a knight, you have to give me a gift."_

 _"A-a gift? Y-yes, of course, anything! Whatever you want I'll get you it!"._

 _"Okay. You have to promise me, by the faith of your body, that when you've jousted with the knight of the fountain, whether you win or lose, that on foot or horseback you'll come back to me alive without any debate! I don't care if you have to flee before you can finish the job, I don't care if right now you feel like you're going to avenge Miles or die trying, you have to promise to come back to my court and your cousins alive."_

With those words of Arthur's, Griflet's loyalty and gratitude are won, and he rides to go attempt to avenge Miles. He crossed the knight of the fountain who doesn't want to fight him, but must. He holds on for a while, but ultimately is thrown down. Fearful he's killed him, the knight leaps off his horse to check and recognizes Griflet. Guilt consumes him and quickly he puts the boy back on his horse and sends it returning to Camelot full-tilt so that Griflet can avoid the fate that was Miles'. Griflet's arrival sparks a rainbow of emotions, and Arthur nearly goes into a panic attack, though Charming manages to calm him and reassure him. Griflet makes it but Arthur is guilt-stricken anyway. He decides he's going to ride after the knight and after some drama preventing him for a little while, finally manages to. As he rides he comes across Merlin and saves him from those chasing him and joins with him. Merlin sets off with Arthur to face this knight of the pavilion. Now it's Arthur's turn to challenge the knight, and he does remarkably well but ultimately falls, leaving Merlin to save Arthur. As they ride, Merlin tells him who the knight who killed Miles and wounded Griflet was. It was King Pellinore himself! Arthur is hurt and stunned, but Merlin assures him and tells him Pellinore will one day give him undying loyalty, and his sons as well will be among the greatest knights in Arthur's court, and that the knight will one day tell him the name of the son born to Arthur by Morgause. Before Arthur can press, Merlin puts him to sleep. They continue to ride until coming across a mysterious and beautiful lake. This is where Arthur fist lays eyes on the Lady of the Lake, and here is where he finally gets Excalibur and the magical scabbard with it. Eventually they return to the castle and learn the others have left to return to Worcestershire. Merlin brings Arthur back, along with Charming, to the school where shortly after a message from the wicked king Ryons comes, demanding Arthur's beard. Arthur, infuriated, gives a heated and sharp response, goaded by a vengeful Petipace of Winchelsea, and send the messenger on his way with the feeling they're probably going to end up regretting this. Finally, Merlin gets some rest and during his rest has a nightmare. He remembers the Mayday Massacre and his role in it, and how ultimately all that death was made pointless because the one child that had needed to die had survived.

Gawain enters a discussion with his mother, during the weekend they're at home, and she alludes to something dark centering around Arthur and pushes Gawain to confront him about it on his return. It is her mistake. Gawain goes back to school and does as his mother asked, confronting Arthur about Mayday. Arthur tells him the story behind it, drowning in guilt and regret and begging forgiveness while waiting for Gawain to kill him. Gawain, though, sees his remorse and regret, and Anna's plan backfires. He spares Arthur and his bond with his uncle, instead of weakening, strengthens tenfold. Arthur returns to Ector's quarter and stores away Excalibur. Kay offers to take Caliburn and get it fixed, to Arthur's gratitude. Arthur then goes out to find Dinadan and Griflet and tell them who it was that killed Miles. All together they go to confront King Pellinore in his office, and Pellinore explains why he did the things he did, and how Miles begged him to, knowing that even if he should die during the duel, at least he would die in honor. Arthur leaves the judgement as to what's to be done to Dinadan and Griflet, but neither feel like they're in a mental place to make that call, leaving it to Arthur. Arthur owes Pellinore a debt for what he did for him during Mayday, and so he let him go. The death of Mile on his conscience is punishment enough for him. Besides, Arthur get the feeling that if it was anything else, Pellinore's five sons would come down on them hard. Almost accosted by Pellinore's sons, Pellinore calls his children down and they depart in shaky peace with a lot to think about...


	4. Captured

Captured

(A/N: **Second up today.** )

The knights-in-training galloped through the forest, fighting through attackers that seemed to spring from nowhere, all intent on capturing Arthur and whoever else they could manage. It was only a minute or so before the horses bearing Nentres and Uriens galloped full-tilt onto the scene and began to ride down the slower horses bearing the armored knights. "Guys, we have a problem!" Arthur shouted, catching sight of those horses first. They turned back and a string of curses sounded from most of them. They pushed their horses as hard as they could and managed to keep ahead, but they wouldn't for long. They'd probably end up having to out-maneuver them. They found themselves racing along a ravine. Arrows started flying from the forest and they got low to their steeds, cursing the fact they'd let themselves be bottlenecked between a canyon and a wall of archers. Now they were in trouble.

"Hey Lance, I didn't sign up for a suicide mission!" Brandelis furiously yelled at Lancelot.

"You're a knight in training. Your _life_ is a suicide mission!" Lancelot snapped testily.

"Yeah, well we didn't think that suicide mission would happen today while trying to protect a guy we didn't even want to protect!" Brunor yelled. Lancelot was quiet and grim. He hadn't either… He gritted his teeth. They had to get out of this. _Somehow_.

Accolon looked to the side and gasped on spotting an archer release a shot aimed right for Galihoden's neck! "Galihoden get down!" Accolon shouted, practically leaping on his back and shoving him down. Accolon cried out in agony as the arrow struck his side and sent him tumbling from the horse. The horse whinnied, balking at the shift in weight, and Galihoden struggled to reign in in, gasping and turning quickly to Accolon, shocked at the action. Had a member of the goth clique seriously just saved his life?

Accolon staggered up. "Keep going! Protect the king!" Accolon ordered. He turned. "I'll take Uriens."

"Accolon, you…" Galihoden began.

"Go!" Accolon shouted, clutching his side with a scowl and drawing his sword. He raced at Uriens, who's focus now seemed to be on him more than anyone else, and ran towards the charging horse that whinnied loudly as it ran towards him. It almost seemed to go in slow motion. Galihoden watched in horror, half expecting Accolon to be trampled to death. An arrow suddenly passed in front of him and he gasped, turning. He galloped quickly after the others, leaving Accolon to whatever kind of suicide task he had in mind. What did he care anyway? It wasn't like he was on good terms with the guy. Sure Accolon had probably save his bacon, and had… He quickly shoved the thought away and focused on catching up to the others. If Accolon wanted to play chicken with a galloping warhorse, let him. It wasn't his concern. His concern was getting out of this disaster alive.

KAK

Accolon ran at the charging king, whose eyes were narrowed darkly. As the horse neared, Accolon moved swiftly to the side and leapt up, seizing Uriens and dragging him from the steed and onto the ground. Uriens fell with a cry of pain and alarm and rolled with Accolon. He scowled, drawing a knife and going to stab the other. Accolon caught his wrists, wrestling with Uriens on the ground. He was losing his strength fast, though, the arrow in his side having caused quite a bit of damage. He managed to throw Uriens off with a pained gasp, and staggered up, clutching his side. Well, he guessed he _had_ challenged the guy to kill him with his own hand, he wryly thought. He honestly should have seen this coming. Did he really think Uriens was going to let everything he'd done to him go?

Uriens got to his feet scowling, knife flashing in the light as he glared borderline murderously at Accolon, who was panting and wheezing, clutching the arrow in his bleeding side tightly. "You think you've saved Arthur? You're only kidding yourself. But hey, you wanted to die for him, so die for him." Accolon swallowed painfully and coughed before drawing a shuddering breath, staggering a bit. Dammit that arrow had gone deep. Uriens approached quickly with no sign of backing down or hesitating. Accolon braced himself and drew his sword. In theory a sword would cut Uriens down before Uriens could get him with the knife… The problem was he wasn't sure he'd be able to do it…

"Uriens, don't make me fight you!" he pled.

"Throw the sword down and don't then," Uriens answered coldly.

Accolon was still, watching the other approach him. He looked towards the canyon, wondering if there was a safe way down. There wasn't, of course. He shouldn't have even hoped. He looked frantically up and down it and started with a gasp. Not far from him was a tree that had fallen, stretched out over it! It didn't go all the way across, but maybe he could jump the last bit. And if he couldn't, hey, he was no worse off than he would be when Uriens fell on him. He'd probably die quicker in fact. He shoved his sword back in the sheath and ran for it. Uriens started, confused, then gasped when he realized what Accolon was doing. He booked it after the other, determined to catch up and put Accolon down before he tried to get away. Accolon was stumbling and injured. Catching up to him wouldn't be a problem.

Of course, that was when Accolon decided to put some of the little tricks he and his clique liked to learn and use. He cast a healing spell on himself. It wasn't a strong one, probably more a pain killer than anything, but it was enough of a boost that he could straighten up and run. Uriens could have damned him, and the rest of the goth clique for that matter, but he didn't. Accolon made it to the tree and began to hurry across it as fast as he dared, being careful not to fall. Uriens reached it and hesitated, looking down uneasily. He shifted, considering whether it was worth it, then decided it was and braced himself, starting to make his way across as well.

Accolon turned and saw Uriens in pursuit. He wouldn't make it across, he realized. He drew his sword and turned to face the young king. Uriens put the knife away and drew his own, and the two glared darkly and challengingly at one another. "Think about this Uriens. You have children to go home to!" Accolon said, backing away from him. He winced when he heard the tree crack a bit. Uriens looked back too in concern, but then focused on him once more. He moved forward a little bit and the tree groaned quietly, shifting slightly and almost knocking them both off balance. Uriens stopped, visibly uneasy now at the mention of his children and the realization of the kind of peril they were in. Accolon, seeing he had him on the ropes, went on. "Sure, if you die Morgan will take great care of Ywain, but what about Yvain? What happens to him if you end up dead? Morgan couldn't care less about him!"

"Don't bring them into this you bastard!" Uriens snapped, stepping towards him again. This time the tree didn't groan, and to Accolon's dismay that just emboldened the young king, who began to slowly approach again.

Accolon backed uneasily away until he couldn't back away any further. He judged the jump. It had looked way smaller from the bluff. Up close he could tell, now, that he wouldn't stand a chance. At least not injured like he was. He looked quickly back at Uriens. "Okay, you win, I'll surrender! Just go back, man. Please. I'll follow you. Do whatever you want to me when we're both safe, just stop coming! Uriens this tree won't hold. Please."

Uriens stopped, looking down again and exploring his options mentally. He wasn't a fool, as much as it seemed the opposite sometimes, and so he knew Accolon was speaking the truth. Finally he sighed, relenting and lowering his blade. Accolon tentatively did so as well. Uriens scoffed and tucked his away. Accolon relaxed and followed the gesture. "Fine," Uriens said. Carefully he tuned around and began to head back the way they'd come. Accolon breathed a sigh and stepped forward. Suddenly the tree cracked and shifted, throwing them both off balance. Accolon gave a shout, falling hard onto it. Uriens gave a terrified cry as he lost his footing and started to topple off!

"No!" Accolon shouted, leaping forward and diving for Uriens, catching his hand and almost going over _with_ him. He managed to get a grip around the tree, though, and held on. He screamed in agony as his wound tore and his side shrieked in protest. Blood began to gush from the wound and Accolon bit back a sob, shuddering.

"Accolon!" Urines instinctively exclaimed in concern before biting his tongue and cursing the moment of weakness. Uriens gritted his teeth, reaching up for a branch and grabbing it with his free hand, getting a good grip on it. "Let go of me! I'm good," he said to Accolon. At least for now he was. Accolon let out a shuddering breath and sure enough let go. Of the tree as he fainted dead away. "Goddammit!" Uriens exclaimed as Accolon fell. He tightened his grip on the other's hand and winced at the sharp pull. Dead weight. Great! He cursed again, grimacing at the effort it was taking. They were doomed, he dryly realized. They were so thoroughly doomed it was laughable. He could let Accolon go, he supposed, but even if he did this tree was giving way, and he doubted he'd make it safely to solid ground.

Accolon stirred a bit with a weak moan. His eyes fluttered open and he caught his breath on seeing the drop below him. Wait, he wasn't falling. He looked quickly up and gasped. Uriens! "What are you doing?! Let go of me and get to safety!" he said. Seriously, Yvain _could_ not be left with Morgan.

"We're both doomed already," Uriens answered. Sure enough, the tree groaned and gave way, cracking and tumbling into the ravine. In terror they cried out. The tree bumped against the sides and got stuck. They fell on it and cried out in pain. "Whoa that was lu…" he began. The sides crumbled, and they cried out in fear as it fell again. Again it got stuck and again they landed on it with grunts of pain.

"Lucky?" Accolon finished with a grimace, clutching his side. "Yeah right." He cried out in fear with Uriens as again the tree fell and caught, and fell and caught, and fell and caught until finally it dropped the rest of the way down and crashed to the ground with the two boys still sprawled over it and now groaning in agony, barely able to move.

"Lucky in that we're not dead," Uriens said. No answer. He frowned. "Accolon?" he asked. He looked over and caught his breath. The other was unconscious and unmoving, bleeding profusely. The arrow had pierced into his side even deeper than before, and he wasn't in a good way. Uriens cursed and scrambled off the log, going quickly to Accolon and pulling him off, laying him on the ground and examining him for further injury. Nope, it was just the arrow, but that arrow was in a very bad location. Not the worst location, no, but not a good one either. Dammit, he had no idea what to do. He racked his memory for anything he might have learned in the past. Push it through if it could be pushed through, never pull it out, stabilize it? Make sure it couldn't move much? He examined the injury. It definitely couldn't be pushed through. Stabilize it was the route to take, it seemed.

He began tending the injury then stopped. What on earth was he doing? This was they guy sleeping with his wife! The best friend who had betrayed him, and he was trying to save him? He frowned and glared down at Accolon, hoping the sight of him would help him harden his heart and just leave. Instead it softened it more. Concern came to his eyes unbidden and he sighed, setting about treating the injury once more. Accolon softly moaned and his eyes fluttered open, fixing on Uriens. "Damn you," he muttered.

"Oh no, you don't _get_ to damn me, you colossal asshole," Uriens said bitterly.

"You almost cost your youngest son his life. You know as well as me that if he'd been left to Morgan's care he wouldn't have survived another year," Accolon said. "She'd have thrown him out and let the world eat him alive. Yeah, I get to damn you. As much as you don't believe it, I do care about your sons, Uriens. And _not_ just because of my thing with Morgan. I care about them because of my friendship with _you_. Once friendship."

Uriens was quiet, inwardly seething. He began to laugh and fell back on the ground, leaning his head against the fallen tree. " _Gods_ I'm a sucker. I'm the biggest sucker in the world! Is it any wonder at all Morgan sleeps around on me? Here I am trying to save the life of the faithless friend who stole her away and all but _rubs_ it in my face! Here I am trying to save the life of-of the man my wife loves… More than she ever loved me…" he said, voice breaking slightly. "Maybe I should just let her go after all…"

Accolon was quiet, looking away from him. "She doesn't love me," he finally said. Uriens bitterly and sharply gave a laugh. Accolon winced, closing his eyes tight. He let out a shuddering breath and turned to Uriens. "She doesn't love me," he repeated firmly. Uriens was silent, glaring at the ground like he was trying to burn a hole through it. "Do you know why she stayed with you, Uriens? Why she didn't leave?" No answer. "Because of the sort of person you are. She seriously thought about it, about leaving. If she couldn't marry a man that was worth her time, she would at least marry a man who kept her entertained… And then she saw you weren't the fool you pretended to be after all… She saw the truth, and that truth ensnared her hopelessly. You had been playing her. No one had ever played her before and gone undetected for so long. When she saw you weren't a patsy, you became a challenge. I wasn't. What she asked I did, what she commanded I carried out, and she adored the power and the control and for that reason became infatuated with me… But for that same reason she won't love me… I'm a conquered city, you a defiant one. A city who plays the part but will only go so far before resisting, a nation that takes revenge upon that which wrongs it and gives no easy forgiveness, a kingdom that taunts and pettily nips and who just when she thinks it's become hers flips another card and walks away laughing… She loves you because you won't be made her puppet, not completely, and I'm a marionette whose strings she can pull every which way and who won't protest. Good for her pride, not good for her wit. I make her feel like a goddess, you remind her she's not. I give her everything she wants and do to her things you couldn't imagine, you give to her only when _you_ desire it and hold back all you're capable of just to tease her and keep her hooked. I'm a fantasy, you're a reality, and I'm sure if she ever _did_ marry me I'd fast become just as cuckolded as she's made you, and it would be to you she would run."

"Maybe I should leave her after all," Uriens dryly said. "Then maybe you and I would both get what we wanted."

"What I want from your wife I can never have," Accolon said. "It's already yours."

"If it were mine, she wouldn't flee to you," Uriens said. "She loves you… Maybe not in the same way, but she loves you nonetheless… More than you know, and in a way you don't understand…"

"Maybe, but even if there's love and not just lust, it's a love less than the love with which she loves you," Accolon said.

"I don't buy that for one second," Uriens said.

"And I don't buy that she loves me more than she loves you. Maybe three fourths as much," he teased, smirking slightly.

Uriens chuckled against his will and focused on Accolon again. His smile fell. "Hold on," he said. "You'll be okay. It's not fatal. Painful and bloody, but not fatal. Just stay still and get your strength back. Then maybe try out that healing magic of yours again."

"Where are you going?" Accolon asked slightly fearfully.

"Nowhere," Uriens answered with a sigh. "I should just leave you here to fend for yourself, but I won't. I _wish_ I was that cold hearted."

"Do you really?" Accolon asked. "Because if you were, I know of one very special life that would have been lost." Namely Yvain.

"Two counting you," Uriens answered.

"Touched you think my life's anything special," Accolon said.

"I didn't say that!" Uriens defended.

"Yes you did," Accolon replied, smirking. Uriens frowned and rolled his eyes, letting it go. Accolon wasn't wrong, after all. He leaned back against the log and hoped someone came looking for them. Otherwise it was going to be a hell of a trip dragging Accolon's sorry backside out of this godforsaken canyon that led gods only knew where.

KAK

The jousting team spirited Arthur away from danger as fast as they could, which wasn't easy because from all sides they were being shot at, and knights seemed to spring from nowhere. Also Nentres, until recently, had been right on their heels. They didn't stop galloping until everything went quiet. Only then did they dare slow down to let the horses catch their breath. They kept going, listening closely for any threatening sound. Arthur clung to Kay tightly, nervously glancing around. He looked back over the jocks and gasped.

"What?" Kay almost instantly responded, protectiveness shooting through him.

"Accolon. Where's Accolon?!" Arthur said.

"Galihoden had him," Gawain answered, turning to look as well in concern. He wasn't with the Count. "Where the heck is Accolon?" he demanded.

"He took an arrow for me and fell off the horse. I tried to go back for him but he told me to keep going and said he planned to take on Uriens. I went to grab him anyway but ended up almost being turned into a pincushion. I saw Uriens only had eyes for him and he only had eyes for Uriens, so I did what he said and ran," Galihoden said, blushing fiercely. Partially from shame, partially from defensiveness.

"You _left_ him?!" Arthur freaked.

"He wanted to take on Uriens!" Galihoden repeated.

"The guy was shot with an arrow and you ditched him in the middle of enemy territory!" Arthur said. "Tell me you're kidding!"

"I did what I had to!" Galihoden said.

"For you! What about for him?!" Arthur demanded.

"What he had to do was take on Uriens. That was _his_ call, not mine," Galihoden replied.

"We have to go back. We can't just leave him there," Gawain said, visibly concerned.

"Are you out of your mind? We barely got out alive ourselves," Brandelis replied. "Leave the goth to his own devices. We have no reason to care about what happens to him."

"How about honor and simple human decency?" Tristan spoke up solemnly.

"Honor and decency can eat it. _I_ wanna go home to my brother and cousin alive!" Bedivere said.

"I order you to stay!" Arthur snapped.

"Nice try, but not happening!" Bedivere replied.

"If Accolon chose to be an idiot, that's _his_ business. We owe him nothing," Sagremore agreed.

"He was willing to risk dying for me!" Arthur said. "The guy probably saved my life. I owe him everything. I'm going back to find him."

"Like hell you are!" Kay shot. "You're king, our job is to protect you, and if I have to hogtie you to the horse and drag you kicking and screaming back to Worcestershire I will!"

"I won't leave him out there alone!" Arthur said, pointing back the way they'd come. "He's hurt and he's gonna need help. I can't believe you guys! I mean come on. Galihoden, he saved your life!" Galihoden winced and looked ashamedly away, blushing. "Oh, come on, _someone_ has to side with me here!"

"I do, Arthur!" Hector immediately said.

"Same here," Bohort agree.

"What?!" Lancelot shot.

"And I," Tristan said.

"Me as well," Gawain stated, jaw set determinedly.

Lancelot stared at them all in disbelief. Now if he were to be totally honest with himself, he was—and he hated to admit it—on Arthur's side too. Thing was he didn't plan on leading his teammates to their death out here. They couldn't stand against Uriens and Nentres's company! They'd get themselves killed trying. Much as he'd like to be a hero, he'd also like to not end up ostracized by his teammates, the majority of which wanted to go back home. He probably would have just told the soft-touches to have at it, except those soft-touches consisted of his baby brother, his baby cousin, and his best friend. Tristan was kind of inconsequential. The guy didn't have a lot of friends or people he opened to, so no one on the jousting team could really claim they were very close to him.

Finally, he sighed. "We're targets as long as Arthur's with us. Sorry, 'your majesty', but bringing you back to find Accolon is out of the question. You'll get us all killed just by being with us! Go back to Worcestershire. Do that, and I'll go try and find Accolon with anyone else who's up to it. We aren't targets when you're gone. You'll end up more a hindrance than a help to us. I'm not putting my brother and my cousin's lives in peril for you. It's not gonna happen."

Arthur looked stunned at the remarks, then uncertain and uneasy, shifting. "He's right, Arthur," Gawain said. "They want _you_. They don't want us."

Arthur was quiet, head bowed. "Okay," he finally relented. It wasn't like he had much choice.

"I'll bring him…" Kay began. He gasped suddenly, stiffening. They all quickly turned and started. From out of the woods rode Nentres, and with him the whole host of his and Uriens' men! Nentres looked less than impressed. "Nentres," Kay said, tense.

KAK

"Surround the king!" Lancelot ordered quickly. The only ones who bothered were Gawain, Tristan, Hector, Bohort aka Bors, and Kay. Lancelot looked at the others in disbelief. They grimaced and winced, avoiding his gaze. "So, this is how it is," Lancelot said, voice slightly bitter. Why should he have expected anything else from the cowards?

They were surrounded, all of them, by Nentres, his men, and Uriens' men. "Where's Uriens?" Nentres icily asked.

"One of his people shot Accolon with an arrow. Accolon got back up, drew his sword, and prepared to face Uriens in melee combat. We don't know what happened to them passed that point," Galihoden answered, glaring at Nentres guardedly.

"Where did it happen?" Nentres asked.

"By a ravine," Galihoden replied.

"Hmm… I hope for your sakes he's still alive. Take them. All of them," Nentres commanded, obviously beyond done with this whole thing.

"Wait, let them go! It's me you want, Nentres. I'll go with you willingly, just leave them alone," Arthur said.

"You're willing to sacrifice yourself for your tormentors? Are you serious?" Nentres dubiously asked.

"I'm not doing it for them. I'm doing it for Kay and Gawain. Maybe Hector too. Beyond that, though, it boils down to this. I'm king. My job is to protect my people, whether they hate me and I hate them or not," Arthur replied. "So yeah, I'm throwing in the creep jocks too. I'll go with you. No one has to fight or die." The others gaped at him in shocked disbelief.

"Like hell I'm letting you do this, Arthur!" Kay immediately defended. "Over my dead body is that freak putting his hands on you."

"Your job is to obey me as your king," Arthur said, shooting a warning glare at his foster brother.

"And my job as your brother is to protect you with my life!" Kay sharply snapped.

"Be my subject this time, Kay, not my brother!" Arthur ordered.

"Because that's magically supposed to change my mind?!" Kay demanded.

"Kay please! The sooner we sort this out the sooner they can find Accolon and Uriens and help them if they're hurt," Arthur pled.

Nentres winced at this reminder, shifting uneasily. "Figure it out by the time we find our numbskull brother-in-law and his friend, Arthur. Until you do, none of you are leaving. However, I have no time to waste waiting for you in one place when I could be more productively waiting for you as we search for Uriens and Accolon."

"Thank you!" Arthur said to Nentres. He turned to the jocks. "You heard him, search party." The jocks grimaced, exchanging looks, but nonetheless begrudgingly relented to help search. Lancelot's eyes, meanwhile, were fixed on Arthur in disbelief like he wasn't sure what to make of a single thing that was happening…

KAK

Uriens sat watching Accolon in concern. He was getting worse. Uriens had no clue how to help him, and unless they were found soon… He shoved the thought aside and frowned. Rising to his feet, he looked around. He couldn't wait for Nentres to hunt him down, or anyone else who might be searching. He had to get Accolon out. It was getting dark, and he didn't want to be in the bottom of an unknown ravine in the dead of night. He went to Accolon and knelt, placing a hand on his shoulder. Accolon's eyes fluttered exhaustedly open. "We're not waiting anymore," Uriens said. "I'm getting you out of here."

A defeated expression crossed Accolon's face. "You can't get us both out," he soon replied. "First save yourself, then if you can find it in you to show me mercy once you're free, come back later for me."

Uriens shook his head. "By the time I get back, you'll be gone. You need help now," he said.

"You don't have the time to spend trying to save us both," Accolon replied. "If this thing floods, or if creatures have made it home…"

"Then I'm definitely not leaving you," Uriens answered firmly.

"Why?" Accolon asked. Goodness knew he'd completely and totally deserve it.

Uriens was quiet, head bowed. "Don't ask me why," he finally answered. "Just work with me." He knelt down and struggled with Accolon as carefully as he could, getting him over his shoulder and staggering up with a gasp. "Holy crap, you need to lose weight."

"Oh shove it up yours," Accolon replied. "You're the one more sturdily built between us, so I have no clue why you're having a problem with this."

"You think you're the only one hurt?" Uriens defended heatedly. "You dragged me off a galloping horse and helped me fall off a cliff. My leg's screaming at me in protest, so's my shoulder, so shut up and let me belittle you all I want so I can get through this."

"Oh hell no! Did you break a leg?! If you did and you're still trying to carry me out, I swear to the gods…" Accolon began.

"I didn't break it! Hit it pretty bad, but didn't break it. My shoulder was pulled pretty harshly, but it's not broken either. I'm fine," Uriens replied. He gritted his teeth and focused on putting one leg after another. It would get easier as he went along, right? He really, really hoped it did. And he really, really hoped he was walking the right direction towards a way out. Maybe this was just leading him further in…

KAK

He stared in frustration at the cave in front of him. Maybe it led out, but if there were monsters in there he might not be able to get _himself_ out let alone Accolon. Not in this condition. Dammit. All this time wasted! He wondered if he should even keep trying. At this point could he hope to save Accolon anymore even?

"Why did we stop?" Accolon weakly asked in a whisper.

Uriens grimaced. "Dead end," he finally answered, turning around and walking the other way. "Sorry."

Accolon glanced up and saw the cave. He was quiet. He began to move, trying to struggle off Uriens. Uriens, in annoyance, tightened his grip. "Let me go, Uriens… You can make it through there. You can still get out! Just put me down and leave me. Please."

"Shut. Up," Uriens replied.

"Can't you see it's too late for me?!" Accolon snapped.

"If it was too late for you, you'd have already died!" Uriens shot sharply. "Don't give me that BS!"

"Uriens!" Accolon argued.

"Accolon!" Uriens shot angrily.

"Oh for the love of…" Accolon began, squirming to try and snatch Uriens's knife from his belt.

"Oh no, don't you even think it!" Uriens said, keeping Accolon's hands away from his belt agitatedly. If this moron was going to try suicide, he was a doubly dead man when they got back.

"Use your functioning brain!" Accolon said.

"If I had a functioning brain I would have put you and Morgan both to death the first time I realized you were fu… sleeping with each other!" Uriens yelled.

"Now's your chance to remedy that with me at least, then," Accolon said.

"I'm not remedying crap all!" Uriens snapped. Just then they heard sounds from the cave and froze. Uriens turned slowly, Accolon looked up. Grunts, squeaks, cackles, growls… Figures began to creep out. Uriens's eyes widened in horror and he dove for cover, quickly hiding with Accolon and putting him carefully down. Accolon looked uneasily over the rocks at the creatures crawling out.

"What the hell?" Accolon whispered.

"Goblins," Uriens whispered in fear. Oh shi… They came in swarms. If those things smelled them or found them… He looked victoriously at Accolon. "See? Dead end," he said triumphantly. Accolon shot him a dubious glare. Seriously? Uriens didn't back down and Accolon rolled his eyes hopelessly, shaking his head.

KAK

"Uriens! Accolon!" a voice suddenly shouted from above. The two gasped, quickly looking up. There, high up on the cliff, they saw the figures of people and horses. The goblins quickly looked upwards and began chattering and growling before slipping back into the cave quietly. "Uriens, Accolon, where are you?!"

"It's Nentres," Uriens whispered.

"What are the odds they're both still alive? One of them's sleeping with his ex best friend's wife. You seriously think Uriens would pass up this golden opportunity to get rid of the competition?" Lancelot's voice said.

"Now _he_ has a brain," Accolon said, looking pointedly at Uriens.

Uriens frowned, glaring at the other. "Don't tempt me," he warned.

"Uriens may play it like he let that friendship go when he discovered Accolon's treachery, but he didn't," Gawain stated. Accolon started, looking at Uriens in surprise. Uriens was stiff, and if it had been light out Accolon probably would have caught sight of the embarrassed blush on his face. "He loved Accolon like a brother. That's a bond not easily broken, even by a treachery like Accolon's. Maybe if Accolon had shown no remorse or regret or shame, he would have been able to let it go, but Accolon _did_ regret and _did_ feel remorse and _did_ feel shame."

"You're soft," one of the other jocks, Bleoberis, stated flatly.

"Maybe, but it is how it is," Gawain answered, frowning.

Accolon looked at Uriens. "We have to signal them before we lose our chance," he said. "You should climb…"

Uriens raised his hands to his mouth, cupping them together, and blew into them, making a sound reminiscent of a loon, cutting Accolon off. The horses and men stopped. Uriens did it again and again. A whistle reminiscent of a songbird answered his loon call. Uriens looked towards the cave then carefully rose, taking off the cape he was wearing and starting to wave it.

"There they are!" a voice, Arthur's, said. "Ur…"

"Don't. They're being silent for a reason," Nentes cut off before Arthur could call. "Bring the ropes. Quickly." Ropes were swiftly brought and Nentres began to lower them down with the knights. Uriens glanced towards the cave and set his jaw. He picked up Accolon again and stealthily slipped to the other side of the canyon where they were being lowered. The first rope he grabbed and tied around Accolon firmly before pulling it twice. He grabbed the second one for himself and began to climb up as they pulled on it as well, hoisting both him and Accolon up the cliff, Accolon looking immensely relieved.

KAK

The moment they were at the top, Uriens scrambled to his feet. "Accolon needs medical attention yesterday," he said urgently.

"I'll help him," Gawain said, leaping off his horse and going to Accolon. "What happened?" He stopped on seeing. "Never mind. Ooh… That's bad."

"No kidding!" Uriens said agitatedly. "Help him." Gawain frowned but began to tend the other nonetheless. Uriens looked at Arthur. "So, you caught him, Nentres?"

"That's up to debate," Kay sharply said.

"If you all want to be captured or killed trying to save a king that can't be saved, that's your business," Uriens replied.

"I want to be captured and killed trying to save my baby brother," Kay snarled. "Not my king."

"And I won't let you!" Arthur shot. He turned to Uriens and Nentres. "You can have me giftwrapped if you want, just let the others go!"

"I'm not leaving!" Kay shouted.

"You don't have a choice, Kay!" Arthur replied.

"Oh no?! Test that!" Kay snapped viciously, puffing up and towering over Arthur, who backed away slightly intimidated. Kay gasped as suddenly something cut him. He looked at his arm then at the person who'd dared pull a knife on him. Brandelis. He blinked blankly.

"Sorry Kay, you're more use to the king and to us alive than dead," Brandelis flatly said, frowning.

Kay blinked then wavered unsteadily. He blinked again rapidly as his vision began to blur. He realized swiftly what had happened. "You-you filthy son of a bit…" All at once he collapsed. Bleoberis caught him and picked him up easily, tossing him over the back of his horse.

"Yous a dead man when he wakes up, ya know," he said dryly to Brandelis.

"We're all dead men if Kay keeps interfering with Arthur's bargaining," Brandelis answered.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but thanks," Arthur said, staring miserably and guiltily at his unconscious foster brother.

Brandelis was quiet. "If there's nothing else you're good at, I'll give you this: that you definitely excel at thinking fast and on your feet, and you're good at cleverly manipulating a bad situation into a better one… Especially when the chips are down and you're trying to protect others."

"Whoa… Is that seriously respect?" Arthur asked, stunned.

Brandelis grimaced and glared at him. "Don't twist my words," he warned flatly, eyes narrowed.

"It _is_ respect!" Arthur said, grinning cheekily.

"Oh for the love of… Take him, he's yours!" Brandelis testily dismissed, all but shoving Arthur against Uriens, who blinked blankly as he instinctively caught the king.

Arthur winced and looked at Accolon. "Just make sure he's going to be okay," he added in concern. Gawain paused a moment before returning to tending Accolon. Uriens threw Arthur back into the midst of his and Nentres's soldiers.

"Bind him and blindfold him. We ride for Orkney immediately," Nentres ordered. Gawain started, quickly looking over with eyes wide. He wisely kept his mouth shut, though.

"Don't even think about it, Gawain," Uriens warned, pointing his sword at Gawain. "Your old man's on our side. You're helpless to do a single thing, so don't even try." One of Uriens's men brought Uriens's horse forward. Uriens mounted it swiftly and turned his steed. "Let's go." Nentres nodded in agreement and turned his own horse, trotting away from the jousting team, plus Hector and Accolon, without looking back. Uriens followed. Arthur watched the jocks defeatedly. Not even an _attempt_ to save him? Really? He supposed he couldn't have expected anything else, and hey, he'd brought this on himself. He hadn't wanted them to try anyway! Still, it was kind of disheartening that they didn't protest even a little bit… He gasped in slight pain as he was roughly jerked around and forced to his knees by the soldiers, swiftly bound and gagged then dragged back up, pushed ahead of them. The jousters watched after him, utterly still and utterly silent. This? This was very, very, very bad…


	5. Dissention

Dissention

The jousting team rode back to Worcestershire in utter silence. And just to add to the glumness, because why the hell not, it began to rain. It figured. Dark, rain, silence… Couldn't get more depressing than that. This would probably go down as the biggest failure in Worcestershire history, and probably general history, and they were right in the center of it because they had screwed up majorly. "We shoulda kept ridin' until de school," Bleoberis grumbled.

"Preach it, cuz," Bors agreed flatly.

"I'm not looking forward to when Kay wakes up," Gawain said.

"I'll handle Kay," Bedivere quietly said, head hung low in shame and embarrassment. He should have tried harder… If not for Arthur's sake, then for Kay's! He had it coming, whatever Kay did to him. Gawain concernedly watched Lancelot, as did Hector. It wasn't… normal for Lance to be this quiet, to not even try and defend anything, to not even say something snippy regarding Arthur. His utter silence over the matter was more than a little unsettling.

"Lance, are you okay?" Hector worriedly asked.

Lancelot was quiet. He looked up at the school and stopped. The others, puzzled, stopped too and followed his gaze. There, standing on the walls, was Galehaut, arms folded as he watched them return. Lancelot was still. "He's behind this," Lancelot finally said. Hector looked upset at this and bowed his head. He wasn't surprised, honestly, but… but to have it confirmed hurt more than it should…

"Bastard! Come down here and face what you've done!" Accolon shouted up at the man, a red-hot rage shooting through him. Galehaut was silent, glaring. He turned his back, walking away. "You coward! You treacherous, faithless coward!"

Galehaut stopped and turned back. He went to the wall once more, glaring furiously down at Accolon. "I owe no loyalty to your king!" he snapped sharply. "Call it treachery if you will, but you only delude yourself."

"You owed every loyalty to him," Tristan answered boldly, backing Accolon. Galehaut scoffed and walked away in disgust.

Kay was starting to stir, softly moaning. Bedivere winced. "I'll get him to Ector… Ector needs to know what happened…"

"War on school grounds. Fun," Galihoden flatly said.

"What do you mean?" Sagremore asked.

"You think Ector's gonna let this go? The moment he hears it was Galehaut behind this, there'll be blood. There's no doubt about it. The teachers will lock themselves away and go to war with one another, and when all's said and done things here will become a whole lot more uncomfortable for everyone," Galihoden said.

"Maybe I shouldn't bring him back to Ector," Bedivere flatly said. He sighed and nonetheless went to do so anyway. Lancelot turned his horse, riding towards Galehaut's chambers. Hector shifted uneasily but followed nonetheless. Bohort and Bleoberis exchanged looks, debating whether or not to follow. Bleoberis shook his head negatively and Bohort winced, bowing his own. They departed company with the others in silence, riding to return to their residences. One by one the others drifted away in silence until only Gawain remained with Accolon, who was sharing his horse so really had little choice in the matter.

Accolon shuddered slightly, grimacing and holding his injury. "You'll be okay," Gawain said.

Accolon nodded. "I know. Thanks," he replied. Silence. "What are you going to do? You're planning something. I can sense it."

Gawain bowed his head low. "I may not be able to convince my father to let Arthur go, but if the king is to be kept prisoner in our dungeon, if nothing else I have access to him… And to the keys… And as crown prince, knowledge of all the escape tunnels…"

Accolon was quiet. "That will be treachery," he finally said. "To your own father."

"I know," Gawain answered.

"He could have you killed. By law he would _have_ to," Accolon said.

Silence. "I know," Gawain finally replied. "So it'll be a last resort… I can reach my father…"

"And if you're wrong?" Accolon asked.

"Then this war he has going on against Arthur is going to cost him far, far more than he was willing to pay," Gawain stated boldly. He rode towards the medical ward at Worcestershire to deposit Accolon. Then he would ride for Orkney immediately. His brothers didn't need to know his plans. He wouldn't want them to anyway.

KAK

Ector listened in horror to the story Bedivere was telling, chilled by the tale. He looked numbly to his son, who sat with head bowed almost between his legs, as Bedivere finished. He blinked at Kay then turned back to Bedivere. Silence. After a moment he walked to a weapon rack, scanning it. Soon he selected a sword and tested the feel of it. "Uh, sir, wh-what are you doing?" Bedivere asked uneasily.

Ector, jaw set, ground his teeth together before scowling darkly. "I'm going to file a complaint," he answered. Kay looked up and tried to stand, ready to join his dad, but wavered and sank back down again. "Rest, Kay. I'll be back soon."

"You can't fight Galehaut, Sir Ector! You won't stand a chance," Bedivere said in concern.

"Oh no? Hmm… I thought I'd taught you boys long ago not to underestimate an opponent," Ector replied, sheathing the blade and turning, walking towards the door. "He won't have to suffer long. Just long enough."

"Sir Ector, you're going to get yourself killed!" Bedivere protested.

"Dad!" Kay worriedly called after him.

"I'll be back. I promise," Ector replied before leaving and shutting the door behind him. Bedivere and Kay gazed worriedly after him, mouths agape. Not even a minute after he left, they heard footsteps and gasped, quickly turning. There, coming down the stairs, was the mysterious servant Arthur had picked up in the forest back in Far Far Away.

"Tell me everything," the servant coldly stated as they stared at him with eyes wide and shocked. The two exchanged unsettled looks before turning back to the man and tentatively filling him in on what had happened as he listened quietly, jaw twitching.

KAK

Galehaut stared into the fireplace silently. Lancelot and Hector both stood in the room with him, hovering in the back of it. Hector had refused to speak to him. Lancelot had answered with 'fine' when he'd asked if they were alright, and that was it. Neither of them had said a word or come to see him since. Hector had arrived here only when Lancelot did. He'd followed his older brother because of course he would. Hector adored Lancelot to pieces. "Is this what I'm subject to, then? The silent treatment and wordless glares from the back of a room?" the king finally said to them without turning.

"You threw me under a carriage," Lancelot said.

"Was I the one who told you to go after Arthur?" Galehaut asked.

Lancelot was quiet. "It was our job. You knew that," he soon said.

"I was of the opinion you didn't believe Arthur was _any_ sort of king… It wasn't your job, Lancelot. It won't _be_ your job until after your graduation, unless you should be knighted early," Galehaut said.

"You know what I mean!" Lancelot snapped sharply.

"And you know the last thing I would _ever_ do is throw you to the wolves!" Galehaut snapped equally sharply, spinning around to face the boy.

Lancelot glared at him. He glared evenly and challengingly back. "You gave him a death sentence," Hector spoke up in a hiss, hurt and angered by Galehaut's actions.

Galehaut was quiet, jaw twitching slightly. He turned to Hector. "I never wanted Arthur dead… I wanted his submission."

"What, you're not terrifying _enough_?" Hector said in a harsh whisper, looking down.

Galehaut stared. "I gave him no death sentence. Lot will not kill him," he said after a moment.

"You can't know that," Lancelot said. "You've destroyed me… When word of this gets around…"

"Really? That's what you care about?! Your rep?! Are you insane, Lancelot? Arthur was taken prisoner, bound and blindfolded by three enemy kings whose only goal in life is to trample him under their feet, and you're concerned about your street cred?!" Hector freaked, startling both Lancelot and Galehaut who looked at him with wide and shocked eyes. Never, _ever_ had Hector spoken like this to Lancelot before. "I don't believe you! For all you know they could put Arthur on display as some trophy for visitors to mock and taunt and dishonor and laugh at, and you don't even care! He _gave_ himself to them so we could get away alive! Bet you didn't tell Galehaut _that_ , huh?!"

"What?" Galehaut immediately asked, eyes narrowed.

"Oh, come on. You're a king. You know a knight's job is to defend to the death the ruler they protect," Hector sneered at the man. "How even do you overlook something like that? We were ready to fight to the end for him. At least I was! Me and Gawain and Tristan and Bohort and Kay… But Arthur wouldn't let us! He wouldn't watch us die for him, so he all but gave himself to them on a leash so that we could even come back alive! If we'd died, it would have been your fault, 'dad'. Didn't factor _that_ into your scheming, did you?" Galehaut was silent, visibly stunned, and Lancelot, who was thoroughly shamed, would meet no one's eyes, staring numbly down at the ground in embarrassment and humiliation. "Screw you both. I'm done," Hector said, turning and marching to the door angrily. He pulled it open and gasped in alarm as suddenly a sword was at his throat. He gawked in horror and slowly, fearfully, looked up at the intruder. He blanched. Sir Ector!

"Hector!" Lancelot exclaimed, moving to get to his brother. Galehaut held him back, eyes wide in surprise. Hector looked up at Ector in fear and slowly put up his hands, uneasily backing away.

Ector herded him backwards into the room and looked towards Galehaut. Galehaut was still, keeping Lancelot away from a terrified Hector. "Lancelot, Hector, you should both go to bed now," Ector said. Hector tripped and fell back onto the couch with a little gasp of fear. Ector paced away from him, eyes locked on Galehaut.

Galehaut glared evenly at Ector, a frown on his face and eyes narrowed warily. "Lancelot, take your brother and go," he calmly commanded. Lancelot looked quickly and nervously at Galehaut before looking back at Sir Ector.

Hector scrambled up, drawing his sword on Ector defensively. He knew exactly why Ector was here. They all did. He was ticked at Galehaut, no doubt, but… but he wasn't going to lose another father like he and Lance had lost their birth one… "Don't try it boy. You know you'll fall," Ector warned.

Lancelot drew his own blade, jerking free of Galehaut and quickly getting between the king and Sir Ector, eyes narrowed. "Lancelot, Hector, go," Galehaut ordered more firmly. "We're only going to talk."

"Then tell him to drop his blade," Lancelot said.

"I wouldn't ask him that. Were our situations reversed, I wouldn't want _him_ to ask me that," Galehaut answered.

"Yes. Talk. _That's_ what I came for," Ector said, thinly veiled sarcasm lacing his tone.

"Then he can talk with us here too," Hector said fearfully.

"Go," Galehaut said.

"No," Lancelot replied.

"Dammit, Lancelot, go!" Galehaut shot.

"The last time I went, my father died!" Lancelot shouted, sharply looking back at him. Hector winced, bowing his head painfully. "I _won't_ lose this one too!" he finished.

Galehaut was silent, glaring at Lancelot sternly. Lancelot stared unwaveringly back. Ector was quiet, eyeing the two boys quietly. Finally, he let out a shaking breath and lowered his sword. He tucked it away but didn't drop it. "Go. Both of you… The king and I need to have a, let's say 'discussion'." They didn't move. "He'll return to you alive… Maybe not in good shape, but out of mercy for you both, he _will_ live."

Hector glared, tears threatening his eyes. He moved closer to Galehaut. Galehaut gently took Lancelot's arm and pulled him over to Hector. He placed his hands on both their shoulders. "Go," he said to them. "I promise, everything will be alright. I _promise_ … I'll see you soon. _Alive_."

"No," Hector replied in a breaking voice, shaking his head fervently. Father had promised that too…

Galehaut's jaw twitched and he let his stern façade fall. He let out a shaking breath and pulled them both close, holding them tightly. "This time that vow will be fulfilled… I won't follow in Ban's footsteps," he swore. "Please. Go. I'll be alright." Hector clung to him tightly, shivering, tears slipping from his eyes. It took Lancelot's all not to let his own come, but he had to be strong for Hector. He gritted his teeth and did the hardest thing he felt he'd ever done. He pulled away from Galehaut, took his brother, and dragged the immediately struggling Hector out of the room as the boy fought and cried out for Galehaut.

"Come back, come back! You have to come back, you _have_ to! Please Galehaut! Dad, please! Please! Please! Don't go! Don't leave us alone! Don't go! Don't!" Hector screamed frantically, trying to break away from Lancelot. Galehaut was still, not watching after them. The door shut. Neither Ector nor Galehaut moved until the frantic cries faded away.

KAK

It was utterly silent in the room, Ector watching the door and Galehaut staring towards the fireplace. "I never got to say those words to _my_ loved one before he was taken from me," Ector soon said in a dark tone.

"Hmm… With the number of enemies your adopted whelp has, I would have thought you'd say them to him every day," Galehaut answered. "Just in case."

Ector darkly and dangerously chuckled. "Oh, you're a piece of work," he said. Galehaut was silent. Ector turned to him. "I think I'll cut out your tongue first, so never again will you spill deceitful, manipulative speech."

"That won't get you your son back," Galehaut answered. "Nothing you do to me will get your boy back."

"But it'll certainly satisfy my wrath," Ector relied.

"Will it, Ector?" Galehaut asked. "Will becoming me satisfy you?"

"I'll become _far_ worse than you," Ector answered unwaveringly.

"And in the end, you'll have nothing to show for it but a shattered conscience and a broken heart," Galehaut said. "You're a good man, Ector. Better than most of us behind these walls by worlds and worlds… And so is Lot, though you might not think it… He won't have your child executed."

"Oh, but I hope he _does_. Better that than keep him alive as a trophy and prize. Better that than to display my child as a slave in his court for all those who visit his halls to mock and demean," Ector whispered.

Galehaut was quiet. "He is a better man than that," he finally replied.

"If he is any kind of a good man, he will give me my little one back," Ector said.

"He can't do that any more than I can," Galehaut replied.

"You both want the same thing. His submission," Ector said. "He won't give it to you. _Ever_."

Galehaut scowled at the remark, but didn't reply… Part of him sensed it was true… "Whether he gives it or not, he will still be our slave." He gasped as suddenly a hand was over his mouth, and screamed in anguish as a blade ran him through his back and out his front. His hands went to it automatically in shock. He stood in place, totally taken aback and stiff.

"Thank your adopted whelps a thousand times over that I don't take this opportunity to cut you half… But you promised them you would return to them alive, and though I didn't swear it, my word is as good as my vow, and I told them you would go back to them alive and remain alive… So you will… But if I can't retrieve my son, and if Arthur is made to suffer, then I'll turn my wrath on Lancelot and watch you squirm just as I squirmed every time I saw him going to your class, and every time he came to me and wept for what you'd done… And when I've had my fill torturing you like _that_ , then I'll watch you languish as I languish now, when one day he disappears, taken by a force he can't stand to while you remain helpless to do anything about it… I wish I was as good a man as you're inclined to believe I am, King Galehaut…" He withdrew the sword. Galehaut made a choking sound and sank numbly to his knees, Ector lowering him gently down and laying him by the fire. Galehaut was fighting to breathe and choking on blood, body shuddering. Ector tucked the sword away and turned, leaving the room. "Guards, King Galehaut has been attacked in his parlor! He needs a healer as quickly as possible!" he shouted out as he marched through the halls and left the man's chambers. He heard the sounds of guardsmen racing to respond to the shout, and walked away without looking back…

KAK

Gawain slipped out of the dorms silently, making his way to the stables as quietly as he could. He'd settled Accolon. Now he needed to ride for Orkney. There was no time to waste. "Where are you going?" a voice asked.

Gawain froze in place. After a moment he turned. Brandelis, he saw. "Nowhere that you need to worry about," he answered.

"Are you going after the king?" Brandelis asked.

Gawain was silent. "Yes," he finally replied.

"Why?" Brandelis dubiously asked. Gawain frowned. "Oh god, don't say it," Brandelis pled. He put a finger down his throat and made a gagging sound.

"He's my friend," Gawain defiantly replied, eyes narrowing.

"Arthur doesn't have friends, you dipshit. He could care less about people and people could care less about him," Brandelis said.

"Why are you here, Brandelis?" Gawain evenly challenged. "So close to the stables when there's nowhere pressing you need to be?" Brandelis fell silent, staring quietly at Gawain. "You owe him nothing. Stay and be safe," Gawain soon said, crossing to the stables and leading out a horse to mount.

Brandelis was quiet, shifting slightly. "If you're going to do what I suspect you are… It's treachery, Gawain."

"Letting him be taken was treachery," Gawain answered.

"This is treachery to your own father!" Brandelis protested, following the other and ignoring the remark. "You're going to doom yourself!"

"When did you begin to care? When did any of us begin to care about each other?" Gawain asked.

"We didn't," Brandelis said. Gawain hummed and started riding.

"You can't do this!" Brandelis called. Gawain ignored him, riding on. "Dammit, Gawain!" Brandelis shouted. He looked at the stable and quickly led out another horse, mounting it and following quickly. "Think about this, for god's sake!"

"He's my father. I can reach him," Gawain said.

"Like hell you can!" Brandelis replied. "Lot of Orkney doesn't get swayed. Except for by your hot mom, but that kind of goes without saying."

Gawain started, blinking, and frowned at him, unimpressed. "Seriously?" he said.

"That woman is fine," Brandelis said with a snort.

"You're talking about my mom!" Gawain protested.

"And you know she's fine," Brandelis sang, smirking.

Gawain glared icily, but didn't argue. The fact of the matter was that no one in their right mind could deny Morgause was gorgeous. "You don't have to follow me, Brandelis. I don't want you to. This could be dangerous. I'm protected because he's my father. You're not."

"I should hope I'd be protected by _you_ ," Brandelis replied.

"There's only so much I can do," Gawain replied. "Please. Go back."

"You know what? After that little taste of adventure earlier today, I'm kind of fixing for more, so no thanks," Brandelis answered. "Hey, if all else fails you can be the distraction and I can be the hero. Or vice versa. Whichever's most convenient. Either way we both end up heroes for saving the sap."

"So, glory is why you're doing this. Typical," Gawain said, scoffing.

"Use or be used," Brandelis said, voice a bit quieter.

Gawain looked over at him in concern. "Don't do that," he said gently. Brandelis was quiet. "You're worth more than that," Gawain persisted. Brandelis continued pointedly ignoring him. Gawain sighed slightly shakily and looked ahead, now not only concerned for Arthur but for Brandelis too. The guy had a lot of… issues… For reasons… He shook his head and put his attention back on the quest at hand. Saving his uncle from his father.

KAK

Lot was beyond thrilled as he watched Nentres and Uriens approach him, a bound, gagged, and blindfolded Arthur between them. His triumphant grin stretched practically across his face. Morgause looked stunned, blinking in shock at her little brother. This was… unexpected. "You did it! How?" Lot demanded, leaning forward in shock.

"Careful planning and manipulation… And loopholes," Uriens said.

"It was Galehaut's idea," Nentres flatly said. Uriens winced and shot Nentres an annoyed glare. Nentres shrugged him off.

Lot looked stunned and briefly uneasy before relaxing again. "Has he finally deigned himself to join our ranks?" he guardedly questioned, tentative but a little hopeful.

"Galehaut joins no cause but his own. His own just happens to line up with ours at the moment," Nentres replied, shoving Arthur forward and onto his knees. Uriens removed the blindfold and Arthur shook his head before shooting a defiant and dagger-like glare at Lot and Morgause. Of course Morgause. Figured.

"He… outlined a loophole in Worcestershire's neutral ground policy. Namely the fact that the minute you're off Worcestershire ground, you're fair game," Uriens said. "He grouped us with Arthur for an assignment he'd set up to take place off campus, and the second we got the chance we took it. He didn't know what hit him, isn't that right Artie?" Arthur made a muffled sound through the gag, eyes blazing in annoyance. "What's that? Can't hear you," Uriens taunted

Nentres sighed and removed Arthur's gag. Uriens blinked then shot Nentres and accusing glare. "Grow up," Nentres bit.

"Why don't you tell him the whole story, guys? Cutting out the juiciest details now, aren't you?" Arthur all but sneered.

"Oh, and what pray tell are those?" Uriens replied.

"The fact that I all but threw myself at your feet for the sake of making sure _his_ son didn't end up coming home in a burial shroud!" Arthur snapped, tossing his head at Lot.

Lot started, shooting to his feet. "What?!" he furiously demanded, scowling murderously. Nentres and Uriens both looked mortified, sickly pale, and shot nervous and frightened looks Lot's way. "By all means, _add_ this in!"

"I-I-I, w-we, i-it…" Uriens frantically stammered, desperately searching for words. He looked down at Arthur with a panicked expression. Arthur stuck out his tongue defiantly. Uriens's eye twitched and he almost went at Arthur before remembering he was in too precarious a position right now to risk it. He looked nervously at a fuming Lot again.

"Oh, what's this? Trouble in paradise?" Arthur sneered. "I thought you guys were thick as thieves."

"Shut up!" Uriens shot.

"New favorite saying Uriens?" Arthur shot.

"I'm waiting for my answers!" Lot roared angrily, slamming his fist on the arm of his throne and immediately regretting it, though he refused to let the pain show on his face. Morgause rolled her eyes and took his hand, gently massaging it between her palms.

"We… The jousting team your son's part of, they-they somehow found out about what was about to happen. They decided to play heroes and rode to do their jobs for once, and defend the king. They helped him to get away from us, at first, but then they realized Accolon had disappeared and stopped before they were safe to try and look for him. I caught up to them with my men and surrounded them. They… they intended to defend him to the death… At least some of them did…" Nentres said.

"Some?" Lot icily asked. Nentres was quiet.

"Some meaning Hector de Maris, Bors de Ganis the younger, Tristan de Lyons, my foster brother Kay le Senechal, and your son Gawain," Arthur spoke up. "The rest would have probably happily ditched, but those five planned to fight to the last breath for my sake. I wasn't gonna let them, so I told Nentres and Uriens that if they let the others go, they could have me giftwrapped if they wanted. Otherwise I'm pretty sure your son would have ended up canon fodder."

"We would have done what we could to keep Gawain alive!" Uriens immediately defended, nervous now.

Lot was seething, glaring darkly down at Nentres and Uriens. "Done what you could?" he icily asked. "No guarantees, it seems."

"You started this war, Lot. You were an idiot to think there wouldn't be the risk of casualty," Nentres snippily said.

"Unless you want to join Arthur in my dungeon, you'll be silent you brat!" Lot snapped viciously.

"Ooh, what's the matter? Allies suddenly not so chummy anymore?" Arthur taunted. "Guess it figures. What a family _we_ make, huh guys?" Morgause smirked. Arthur low-key relished in the sign of approval from his sister, to be totally honest… For a second it almost felt like they could be normal again one day… He knew better, of course, but… but it was nice to pretend sometimes… "I mean four kings, four thrones, four brothers-in-law. Three against one, but the three tag-teaming can barely tolerate each other more than they tolerate the one they're trying to put down. How sad is that?"

"Silence!" Lot shot. "Guards, take the boy who would-be-king and lock him in the darkest cell available! Get him out of our sight."

"Before he has us at one another's throats," Uriens added coldly, glaring at Arthur with a dark and resentful expression.

"It seems it's a bit late for that," Morgause said, chuckling. "Well played, baby brother. I'm impressed." Lot gave her an annoyed look.

"You would be… But thanks, big sis," Arthur replied, bowing his head sadly. He wished they could be normal… She was quiet. He wouldn't be optimistic and say it was because maybe she felt the same. She'd made it abundantly clear she didn't. It just was what it was. The guards came, seizing him and dragging him to his feet. He winced in pain at the rough treatment, and they dragged him out of the throne room and down into the depths of the dungeons, Lot, Uriens, and Nentres glaring darkly after him while Morgause continued to gently massage her husband's hand while humming.

KAK

Gawain reigned in his horse as he and Brandelis came to a stop. Up ahead was a castle. Gawain stared at it quietly. "We there?" Brandelis asked.

"You've never been to Orkney?" Gawain questioned.

Brandelis was quiet. "I'm lucky I get to go as far as Worcestershire," he finally replied. "If my dad had _his_ way…?" Brandelis trailed off and shook his head.

Gawain winced. "Yeah. That's my place," he said.

"Nice place," Brandelis said.

"It won't seem so nice when we see my father," Gawain said. Brandelis grimaced. "You don't have to come… Wait in the tavern, have a bit of fun while you can… Don't follow me in there. For _your_ sake."

"I'm following you in there," Brandelis said.

"You might be more use to me as a trump card instead of a backup," Gawain said.

"Nah, I don't think so," Brandelis replied.

"I'm serious, Brandelis! I'm not trying to get rid of you," Gawain defended.

"And I'm serious about not being much of a trump card. Let's just get going already," Brandelis said, riding onward. Gawain grimaced in concern and worriedly followed the other.

KAK

Lot was in quiet council with Uriens, Nentres, and Morgause when the doors opened. Morgause glanced boredly over and started, straightening up and tightening her grip on her husband's hand. "Gawain," she said, visibly surprise. Lot quickly turned, eyes wide, along with Uriens and Nentres.

"Oh sh…" Uriens began. Nentres covered his mouth, frowning and glaring at him.

"Gawain," Lot echoed in surprise. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at school."

Gawain glanced over at Uriens and Nentres, who held their ground defiantly staring at him. "Where's Arthur?" he soon asked.

"Who's Arthur?" Morgause asked innocently. Lot shot her an unimpressed look. Who was she kidding? She smirked teasingly and he raised an eyebrow at her before turning back to their eldest son.

"Where Arthur is, is none of your concern," Lot replied.

"It's completely my concern, dad," Gawain replied. "It's literally what I'm being trained for."

"To protect false kings from true ones? I hardly think that's what I sent you to Worcestershire for," Lot replied.

"Oh, it's not. You sent us there to protect us from war. Then you promptly brought war right to our doorstep, so thanks for that, dad. Real productive of you," Gawain bit. Lot's jaw twitched and he shifted slightly, but said nothing.

"I warned you not to interfere," Uriens said, glaring at Gawain angrily.

"Warned, did you?" Lot testily asked.

Uriens tensed up, eyes widening. "N-not like that!" he quickly defended. "I-I just told him you were on our side so he shouldn't even think about it."

"Think about what?" Morgause asked suspiciously.

"About coming here and demanding, or bargaining for, the release of the king," Gawain answered, looking boldly at his mother.

There was silence in the throne room as they stared one another down, four against two. Brandelis stood at Gawain's back as unwavering as Gawain, though. "No," Lot finally replied.

"I'll take him back. One way or another," Gawain threatened.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lot asked, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Think real hard about it, da," Gawain said. "Real hard."

Lot was silent, eyes ablaze with anger. "Go back to school, son. Now," he ordered.

"Not without the king," Gawain answered.

"Fine. Then _be_ tutored here," Lot said, not backing down. "I'll set something up tomorrow morning."

"I'm going to take him, dad," Gawain said. "Tonight. With or without your allowance."

"Lock him in his room," Morgause said, scoffing.

"Guards, seize the crown prince and his companion," Lot ordered. Gawain and Brandelis drew their swords immediately. Uriens and Nentres, startled, mimicked the action, going on guard.

Lot blinked, staring at his son in disbelief. Gawain met his father's eyes calmly and coldly. "Don't try it, Gawain," Lot soon warned. "Do you really want their blood on your hands over so petty a reason?" Gawain shifted slightly uneasily, glancing around at the guards in the castle. Most of which he'd known by name from childhood, all of which had protected him with nothing short of their lives and paid him in only loyalty. After a moment he let out a shaky breath and lowered the sword, looking ashamedly away from his father. Brandelis blinked in surprise then winced, lowering his own. He'd go out on a limb and guess Gawain hadn't thought _this_ part of his plan through entirely. "Good lad," Lot praised. He turned to the guards again. "Take them. I want guards posted all night outside the doors and outside the window on the ground. Neither of them escapes. Tomorrow, ship them back to Worcestershire." Gawain glared icily at his father and scowled as the guards firmly seized him and Brandelis, herding them out of the throne room.

Lot watched after his son, a guilty expression crossing his face when the boy was out of sight. "You did the right thing, my love," Morgause cooed. "He must learn where his loyalties should lie. The sooner he understands that, the better."

"I hope you're right," Lot answered quietly. Nentres, quietly staring at the ground, turned and left without a word further. Uriens watched after him in vague surprise, debated whether he was better off hanging with Lot or following Nentres, then decided Nentres was probably the safest bet, given Lot might try to get more detail about their actions against Gawain. He followed the other after bowing to Lot and Morgause quickly.


	6. Freed

Freed

(A/N: And now the final part of Act 1. Act 2 is in the workings, and mostly done. Won't guarantee it'll be up soon, but it will go up in hopefully the not-to-distant future. Maybe tomorrow if I get on a roll and finish it. Enjoy.)

"You accounted for everything except being grounded? Seriously?!" Brandelis agitatedly demanded of his teammate. "You spoiled, entitled, royal brat! Are you kidding me with this?"

Gawain winced. He probably deserved that. "No. I've honestly never had to contend with being grounded. Get over it," he mumbled in embarrassment.

"What the heck are we supposed to do now then?" Brandelis demanded.

"I don't know, okay?!" Gawain replied testily.

"Great!" Brandelis shouted. He grumbled under his breath, pacing the room and searching for exits. "There's got to be an escape tunnel, right?" he asked.

"There is. One my father knows I know about. I'd bet my life guards are watching the exit to it," Gawain said.

"Well, this figures," Brandelis said. "Guess we're having a sleepover then."

"I told you you'd be better off as a trump card," Gawain said.

"There's crap all I could have done in this situation," Brandelis replied. "If I'd set foot inside this palace, I'd have been finished." Gawain sighed in frustration, drawing a hand through his hair. Dammit, they couldn't just sit here and do nothing! "What was even your plan?! Why did you tell Lot you were going to betray him?!" Brandelis demanded.

"My plan was to get in, free Arthur, and get him out," Gawain replied. "I told my father because with or without letting him know what I was doing, I would have committed treason to save Arthur. Dad would have known it was me right away. I'm the only one besides him and the Captain of the Guard who even knows where the escape tunnels all are. He would have been obliged to have me arrested and probably executed unless he did some serious loophole searching, so I tried to play on his paternal love by telling him flat out what was going to happen and giving him a chance to stop it. I'd hoped the threat of my treachery would scare him into giving in. As you can clearly see, and blatantly pointed out, I didn't account for him grounding me."

"Great. This is just great," Brandelis said, throwing his hands up in the air. "Of all the oversights!"

Suddenly they heard something outside. Someone fiddling with the lock. They tensed up, watching the door warily. After a moment the lock clicked, and the door was pushed open. They started as into the room came a cloaked man! Immediately Brandelis drew a sword, just in case this stranger meant trouble. "Oh please, put it away. As if you could hope to stand to my prowess," the man said.

They started. "Wait, that voice… You're the one Arthur brought back from the woods! The one he saved!" Gawain realized immediately, pushing Brandelis's sword down. The person had had an incredibly distinct and distinguished voice, one not easily forgotten.

"Precisely. And I've ridden too long and too far in pursuit of you to have any patience for this nonsense, so let's get the king and go," the man said.

"How did _you_ figure out what happened to him?" Brandelis demanded.

"I overheard his foster brother's friend informing Sir Ector of what had happened," the man replied.

"Bedivere," Brandelis supplied.

"After Sir Ector left, I found his foster brother and this 'Bedivere', and quizzed them as to what was going on," the stranger continued. "They gave me everything. Quite a stir it caused. King Galehaut is in… unfavorable shape. Arthur's foster father's doing, no doubt. The sooner the boy king is returned, the better off the damnable school will be."

"How did you reach us here?" Brandelis asked. The stranger gave them a dubious look then moved out of the way of the doorway, gesturing at something. They exchanged glances then went to see. They gasped. In the halls lay a group of unconscious guardsmen! "Whoa…" Brandelis said. Arthur's new servant was badass. Or really committed. One of the two.

"Yes, well as much as I'd love to regale you with tales of my glorious feats, we're on a rather crunched time limit," the stranger said. "The longer we delay, the less chance we have of getting him out before trouble comes."

"Let's go," Gawain agreed, immediately heading off.

KAK

Arthur sat curled up in the cell, head resting on his knees. He couldn't believe this. Wouldn't it be just his luck, he dryly wondered? …What was Lot going to do with him…? He looked miserably up and ahead at nothing. Nothing he could imagine Lot deciding would be pleasant. A captured enemy king. It was like the guy's dream come true. He couldn't see Lot _not_ showing him off or making him a slave of some kind. Maybe put him on display in a town square and let the people mock him and humiliate him… Just like in Worcestershire. Huh, being Lot's captive might actually be _more_ pleasant. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. He dryly chuckled to himself at the thought. That really _would_ be sad. Sadder still was the fact it was a real possibility.

He heard the dungeon doors open and braced, burying his head in his knees again and waiting. Footsteps were approaching rapidly. He frowned a bit. Why were they coming so fast? He looked curiously up. Suddenly three figures slid to a stop in front of his cell, looking in. "Arthur!" a voice said.

Arthur's mouth dropped in shock. "Gawain?!" he exclaimed, leaping up.

"Hold on. We're getting you out of here," Gawain said.

"You're… wait, hold on, time out, what?" Arthur asked.

"You free, we save," one of the other two figures stated flatly.

Arthur blinked blankly. "Is that… Bran de Lis?"

"Yeah. It's Brandelis. Get over it," Brandelis replied, flushing a bit in embarrassment.

"Why are you here?" Arthur asked.

Brandelis shifted. "I… owe a favor to Gawain," he said.

"You owe _me_ a favor? Are you kidding? _That's_ why you really tagged along? Brandelis, I owe _you_ a favor. Multiple favors!" Gawain said.

"Who cares who owes who what? Focus on the task at hand before they're onto us," the third figure shot.

"Whoa, Char… _you_?!" Arthur exclaimed.

"Oh please, there's hardly a need to hide my identity from anyone who isn't from Far Far Away, Arthur," the man replied, rolling his eyes.

"Who is he anyway?" Brandelis asked.

Arthur grimaced. "Uh... his name's Charming," he said.

"Are you kidding?" Brandelis flatly asked. He yelped as Charming hit him up the back of the head, and scowled at him.

Arthur low-key cheered the prince. Brandelis was one of the bigger jerks on the jousting team, so in Arthur's opinion he totally deserved that. His gaze snapped back to Gawain when the lock clicked and the cell door was pulled open. Wait a second… "Whoa, wait, Gawain, this is treachery. To your dad!" Arthur said, suddenly realizing the implications of Gawain's interference.

"I know," Gawain answered. "So the sooner we go the better. Preferably before…"

"Get down to the dungeons. Make sure they don't reach the king!" a voice, Lot's, said in the distance from above.

"Before they find out," Gawain said, grimacing. "Hurry, we don't have much time. Follow me."

Flustered, Arthur followed quickly along with Brandelis and Charming. "This is insanity!" Arthur said to Gawain. "By the law of Orkney, if you're caught your father won't have a _choice_ but to sentence you to death!"

"I know," Gawain said.

"Why are you doing this?!" Arthur demanded.

"Loyalty," Gawain answered.

Arthur started then seized his arm, sliding to a stop and stopping Gawain too. "Then for loyalty I won't let you do it!"

"For loyalty you will! You have the power to overrule my father's sentence, Arthur," Gawain replied.

"Your father won't listen to me!" Arthur said.

"For me he will," Gawain argued.

"And if you're wrong?!" Arthur demanded.

"Then I'm wrong. But at least _you_ got out," Gawain replied.

"You're out of your mind!" Arthur said.

"Move!" Charming barked, seizing both their arms and pulling them along behind him. "Quickly, how do we get out of this godforsaken castle?"

"This way," Gawain said, turning down a branching hallway and running to a cell. He threw open the door and darted inside before feeling up the walls. After a moment he found what he was looking for and pressed. Slowly, with a loud grinding sound, it creaked open. Charming, Arthur, and Brandelis' lips parted in disbelief.

"Whoa," Brandelis finally said. "That's… genius."

"It's not exactly an original technique, but father would be pleased to know you think so," Gawain answered. Footsteps were racing towards them, quickly closing the distance. "Hurry. Go. I can stall my dad."

"I'm not…" Arthur began.

"Yes you are!" Charming snapped, seizing Arthur's arm and pulling him into the escape tunnel.

"Hey, let me go! Gawain, don't do this! Run!" Arthur pled in fear.

"This is a stupid idea!" Brandelis said to Gawain. "We can make up some story about how he escaped. You don't need to do this."

"I do. I told you, only me, the captain of the guard, and my father knew of this tunnel. There's no believable excuse that can be made otherwise," Gawain replied.

"Come with us!" Brandelis insisted.

"Focus on getting the king to safety," Gawain said.

"Seriously man?!" Brandelis demanded.

"We don't have time to argue!" Gawain said.

"Damn right we don't, so let me out-stupid the stupid!" Brandelis shot. Suddenly he seized Gawain in a lock and pulled a dagger, holding it against the other's throat.

Gawain gasped in alarm. "What the hell man?!" he demanded as Brandelis held him all but immobile, knife almost digging into his neck.

"You want to know the real reason I tagged along, 'pal'? To make sure you didn't end up pulling a stunt this dumb and getting yourself accused of treachery. This is _your_ kingdom, not mine. Let's see your father pin treason on a guy who isn't even his subject," Brandelis said.

"Brandelis, you're insane!" Gawain protested.

"Shut up or I'll slit your throat, Gawain!" Brandelis shouted loudly enough for the pursuers to hear. The footsteps froze. Gawain tensed. Oh no…

"You've lost your senses!" Gawain freaked, struggling against the other. "He won't do it, dad! He's lying!" Silence still. After a moment, one set of footsteps approached cautiously. "He won't do it! He won't!" Gawain shouted. He gave a cry of pain as Brandelis kneed him in the back and forced him to the ground. The single set of footsteps broke into a run and the next moment Lot was there, sliding to a stop and looking right at them, tense and with sword at the ready.

Brandelis and Gawain both quickly looked up. "Sorry Gawain. Cute you decided to stay loyal to your dad, but see, that wasn't going to work for Arthur," he said. "We did what we had to do. Thanks for guiding us to the escape tunnel. Not that you had a choice."

"Bran, you…" Gawain began. He choked a bit as the flat of the knife was pressed tight against his throat, choking him off.

"Call your men off, King Lot. All I have to do is turn the blade and your son's done," Brandelis evenly threatened. Gawain tried to speak again, and Brandelis shoved the flat even tighter against his neck to the point Gawain was starting to have trouble breathing. Blood began seeping from where the blade was digging into his skin. Lot glared at Brandelis, then looked passed him at the escape tunnel, obviously trying to determine whether to call the bluff or not. "Is catching Arthur worth you son's life?" Brandelis challenged. Lot shifted uncomfortably, glancing at Gawain a bit nervously. "Gawain figured we were serious enough that he spilled the beans about this tunnel," Brandelis pressed.

Inside, Brandelis was terrified. If Lot called his bluff, then what? He quickly ran over his options. It was possible to cut a neck but not slit a throat, he knew. It would still look pretty bad, and Gawain's ultimate survival could be passed off as incompetence on his part! Lot, knowing he was just a student and not a hardened killer, would buy it. All his attention would be on his dying—as far as he'd know—son! Arthur and his slave would get away, Gawain would get off scot free, then all he'd have to worry about was himself. It wasn't like death would be so bad, right? He didn't have much of a home to go back to anyway. In fact, he'd _rather_ die than go back to his dad for any length of time, hence his willingness to risk this at all. Still…

"King Lot, I like your son, I really do. He's one of the few guys in Worcestershire I can actually tolerate… Please. Don't try and call my bluff. I don't bluff… I _really_ don't want to kill him," Brandelis said. Lot was quiet, visibly shaken now. "Where's the closing mechanism?" Brandelis asked Gawain, backing up into the tunnel. Gawain was still. After a moment, he reached out and touched it. The tunnel began to close. Panic crossed Lot's face and he stepped forward with a gasp. "Don't!" Brandelis snapped. Lot scowled darkly and paused. Just before the tunnel closed, Brandelis shoved Gawain forward into the cell again. Gawain yelped in surprise. Lot leapt forward, catching his son and pulling him away from the tunnel.

"Guards, two of you take the crown prince to his room! The rest of you with me!" Lot ordered furiously. He leapt at the tunnel, pressing the button again and waiting for it to open. The moment he could squeeze through, he did, darting in.

"Dad, no!" Gawain shouted after his father as he was dragged back by two guardsmen. The rest poured in after Lot to pursue Arthur, Charming, and Brandelis.

KAK

Charming and Arthur darted through the tunnel. "Let me go! We can't just leave them!" Arthur protested, struggling.

"Your friends will be fine," Charming replied.

"They aren't my friends! Gawain's a guy I… get along with more than I used to, and Brandelis is just some jerk jock that decided to be a hero this round," Arthur argued.

"Your standard for friends is impossibly high if two boys all but throwing their lives away for the sake of saving yours don't count as friends," Charming flatly said.

"Neither of them claims to be a friend! They're doing their jobs!" Arthur said. "And it's a job I'm not okay with, so we need to go back and help them right now."

"Should the worst happen then very well, but until we're certain they can't get out on their own, my priority is getting you to safety," Charming said. It needed to be if he was to have a chance of securing the throne out from under the boy smoothly and without arousing suspicion. "We had a bargain, after all."

"Charming, I can't leave them!" Arthur insisted, trying again to pull away.

"Then don't! But at least give them the chance to fix their own problem without you," Charming said, sorely tempted to stop playing nice. "For goodness sakes, you can't micromanage their every action." Arthur hesitated and looked uneasily back. He knew that, of course… But this somehow felt a bit bigger than micromanaging.

KAK

Brandelis couldn't say he was surprised he hadn't been able to get away. He was impressed with himself for how far he'd made it down the tunnel before being caught, actually. He guessed that would be at least something of a consolation prize when his head was fitted in a noose or lain over a chopping block. In retrospect, pretending he was going to slit Gawain's throat right in front of the guy's father, who was also a king, probably wasn't his best idea. Gawain was there, gawking in horror and shock and uncertainty.

Brandelis looked up at Lot. He'd tried to hide his fear, but the guise had fallen within two minutes of staring up at Lot and his judges and his council. There wasn't a trial, not really. "Assaulting my son will be the last mistake you ever have the chance to make, boy," Lot had said, scowling. That had been it.

"Father, please, he…" Gawain began.

Lot put up a hand sharply, ordering silence without a word, and before Gawain could try and defy him, said, "Tomorrow he dies. Beheaded. Be thankful you're a child. Were you an adult, your death would be by something far more painful and merciless."

"You're a generous ruler, sir," Brandelis lamely said, head bowed defeatedly. Anyone else might have retorted with sarcasm, but Brandelis knew Lot was being more than generous with him for the crime he'd committed. Drawing a knife on the crown prince was as good as drawing a knife on the king. At least in Lot's eyes. Drawing a knife on a king was treason, and only the worst and most heinous of tortures were reserved for those who did so. He wasn't a subject of this kingdom, so treason was stretching it, but attempted assassination wasn't, and that was probably just about as bad. Definitely top five, maybe top three.

"Throw him in the cistern," Lot ordered.

"I thought you said there wouldn't be torture!" Brandelis protested in alarm.

"Fortunately for you, you won't be roasting to death in the day's light. Give him a blanket so he can keep warm for tonight, and a decent last meal," Lot ordered. His solders saluted and took Brandelis, who looked uneasily from one to the other, away.

KAK

Lot watched after him, as did Gawain who was slightly pale. Gradually the throne room cleared out, leaving only Gawain and his father. After a moment, Lot rose and went towards a table upon which sat wine and goblets. He took a goblet and poured some of the wine into it. He always did that after passing down a capitol punishment. The younger the person sentenced, the more he'd drink and isolate himself. "Let him go," Gawain finally said, breaking the quiet.

"You know the law," Lot answered.

"Please. He wouldn't have hurt me, I told you that. He was… he was just scared. He just wanted to get out," Gawain said. "I practically _offered_ to let him use me as a hostage." It was a lie, yes, and he hated that, but there was a chance that lie could save Bran.

"If that's true, then _you're_ the one who doomed him," Lot answered mercilessly, not taking the bait.

Gawain was quiet, staring in the direction they'd brought Bran. "Let him go," he said again.

"Go to your room," Lot answered.

"He saved my life, once, a few years ago. And my virtue. And my honor… At the cost of his own…" Gawain said. "I _will_ repay the favor." Lot was quiet, staring into the goblet. Gawain turned to his father. "Let him go, or I'll tell you the truth about what happened."

Lot was utterly still. So, then his father _did_ suspect… He'd just been more willing to sacrifice a boy that wasn't his son than he was to sacrifice a boy who was… "A lie to save your friend," he soon said.

"Will the council and judges see it that way, I wonder?" Gawain said.

"Back down, Gawain," Lot warned.

Gawain swallowed slightly nervously. "No," he answered.

Lot turned sharply. "Back. Down," he ordered.

"It was my plan to come here and get Arthur back. I wanted to try and reason with you first, to do it lawfully. I knew there was a chance you wouldn't hear me, no matter what I said to you. And you didn't… Think fast, dad. Your reputation or your son?" Gawain challenged evenly. His father was renowned for his consistency. It was a big part of what made him so effective as king, the certainty of it all... So just this once couldn't he _afford_ to be inconsistent...?

"Guards!" Lot called.

"Let them come. More witnesses," Gawain said. Lot looked at his eldest in part disbelief and part outrage… And part unease… "I knew where every escape tunnel in this castle was. You told me about them, remember? And showed me each one. 'For your eyes and mine alone. Eventually you'll be king, and one day they may save your life and the lives of your brothers,' you said… I never thought that one day I would have to use them to betray _you_ … I never wanted that… But you gave me no choice."

"Stop," Lot said, body tense and hand clenched on the goblet so tightly his knuckles were white.

"I knew where the keys were. I knew where his cell would be… So when we escaped my room, thanks to Arthur's backup, we went there," Gawain said.

"Enough!" Lot shouted.

"Let Brandelis go," Gawain said again. "I'm not giving you another chance after this."

"Gawain, please. You have to understand," Lot said.

"I'm the one who _does_. You're the one who hasn't got a clue this time, dad," Gawain said. They stared tensely at one another in silence. Gawain soon sighed and bowed his head in hurt and sadness… He was going to do it… " _I_ was the one who freed Arthur from his cell. _I_ was the one who led him to the secret passage that would free him." And just so his father couldn't claim it had all been forced... "And I did it all of my own free…"

"Alright! I'll lift the punishment, just say no more! Say no more!" Lot cut off instantly and desperately, letting his terror show briefly before he quickly attempted to steel his expression again. "You win. Take the boy and go! I'll find a way to excuse this somehow…"

Gawain was quiet. Lot turned away with an angry scoff and downed the wine, refusing to look at his son again. "I never wanted to put you through this," Gawain said after a moment. "I never wanted to give you no choice." His father didn't answer. Lot didn't even look at him. Gawain winced and hung his head in shame and sadness. "I'm sorry," he quietly said. No reply. Gawain swallowed painfully and closed his eyes. His father's silence hurt him more than anything else. Turning, he left to collect Bran and leave for Worcestershire again. Maybe he'd better not go home with his brothers and sister next weekend, he decided. It… probably wouldn't end well. Father likely wouldn't talk to him anyway, and he wasn't overly inclined to see his mother, so yeah. He'd just call it a study weekend and let his siblings take off without him.

KAK

Arthur scanned fearfully for Brandelis and Gawain. "They aren't coming. We need to go back!" he said.

"Stay," Charming warned, sighing in exasperation. Getting on this waif's good side was proving far more a pain than he'd planned for it to be. Maybe he _should_ just cut him down and get on with it. That, however, would probably significantly complicate things. To a degree he wasn't comfortable with.

"I'm not leaving them!" Arthur shot. He looked ahead again and gasped. Charming was at his side in a second, peering guardedly down in case a battalion was headed their way. He started on seeing instead two boys galloping as fast as they could away from the castle. "It's them!" Arthur exclaimed. He whistled loudly and the two horses slowed to a stop, their riders looking over. Arthur waved to them and they turned the steeds, galloping towards Charming and Arthur this time. Arthur refrained from racing out to meet them, thankfully. The boy had a brain after all, Charming noted. Soon Gawain and Brandelis reached them. "You're okay!" Arthur exclaimed in relief.

"Barely," Brandelis replied, shuddering. "One second I was looking at death at dawn, and the next Gawain was unlocking the cistern, hauling me out, and telling me we had to book it before daddy dear changed his mind." He looked at Gawain. "Do I even want to know?"

"I gave him a choice between you and me. He chose me. He'll always choose his children. It's his greatest weakness. The one sure-fire way you can get him to do literally anything you want him to. And if you even think for one second about trying to use that against him, any of you, you're going to see just how far his children will go for him in turn," Gawain said.

"Daddy's boys and girl?" Brandelis asked, scoffing a bit.

"Given a choice between mom and dad, it's dad almost universally," Gawain said. "And it's not just because we're daddy's boys, which FYI I'll admit to proudly. There are… other reasons too. Leave it at that."

Brandelis rolled his eyes. "Let's just get back to school and stop all-out war from breaking out between Ector and Galehaut," he said.

"That's probably a good idea. Lancelot and Hector aren't going to let the attack on Galehaut go, and Kay isn't going to let them near dad. I don't even want to _imagine_ how that's going to escalate," Arthur said.

"Got filled in on the situation, huh?" Gawain asked, wincing.

"Charming was… unnecessarily descriptive and didn't weigh his words like at all," Arthur answered, grimacing and looking a little sick with worry. Charming smirked to himself and said nothing. What? He told it as it was.

"Right. Then let's go," Gawain said, wincing. He hoped they weren't riding back to a bloodbath…

KAK

Ector faced down a wrathful Lancelot with arms folded, standing his ground and ensuring Kay couldn't shove passed him to take on the sword-wielding jock; and believe him, Kay _really_ wanted to. Blade ready, posed to fight, teeth gritted… Ector knew the first chance his son had to go at Lancelot, he'd leap on it. "This won't accomplish anything, Lancelot," Ector evenly warned. "At best it lands you in the medical ward. At worst it lands you in a grave. I promised you I would let him live and I did. I told you I couldn't promise he'd be well-off."

"You ran him through from behind, you coward!" Lancelot said.

"That I'll admit to with shame… I let my emotion outweigh my sound judgement. Luckily for you, me, him, and Hector all, it didn't cloud my judgement about where I was striking, or he would have been dead," Ector said.

"Face me!" Lancelot ordered.

"You know you won't stand. One day maybe, but not today," Ector replied icily. "I'm not putting Hector through that."

"Then I'll put Kay through what _I'm_ going through," Lancelot growled.

"And what does _that_ accomplish besides intensifying my son's wrath? It's a wrath you don't want to deal with, trust me," Ector said.

"Put him down before he puts you down!" Kay insisted frantically. "If you won't, then let _me_!" He tried to push passed Ector again.

Ector's jaw clenched. He braced himself in the doorway, ensuring Kay couldn't slither by. "I can't watch Lancelot and ensure you stay back at the same time, Kay!" he snapped.

"Then let me through!" Kay shouted. "If he wants to hurt you, he'll go through _me_ first!" Lancelot lunged. Ector shoved Kay back and drew his blade, parrying the strike and kicking Lancelot back violently enough the Lancelot yelped and struggled to breathe again, holding his stomach. Kay almost leapt right over his father's head with a furious shout. Ector shoved him roughly back and onto the ground before slamming the door on his son and holding it shut as Kay fought to pull it open again.

"Go back to Galehaut and Hector, Lance! Right now!" Ector ordered, fast losing patience with this situation. Kay was going to be _so_ grounded if he didn't smarten up.

"Not until I'm done with _you_!" Lancelot yelled, trying to attack again. Suddenly another figure got between Ector and Lancelot. Lancelot gasped, and Ector started, eyes widening in surprise. The school councillor, Bors the Elder! He was Bohort and Lionel's father, and Lancelot and Hector's uncle.

Bors the Elder held his nephew's gaze firmly. "Enough Lancelot," he calmly said.

"He tried to kill him! He tried to kill King Galehaut!" Lancelot protested immediately, sounding almost instantly more vulnerable, and all that much closer to breaking down.

"Is Galehaut gone, Lancelot?" Bors asked. Lancelot glared at him, teeth gritted in agony. He tried to look defiant, but the tears threatening his eyes said everything. After a moment, Bors pushed down Lancelot's sword with his own. Lancelot let out a sob, bowing his head low and grinding his teeth, eyes tightly shut. "He's alive still. He's waking up… He'll want to see you. He _wouldn't_ want this. He wouldn't want you to risk your life trying to avenge him when he doesn't ask to be avenged… So stop…" Lancelot was quiet. After a moment, Bors sighed and put an arm around his nephew's shoulders, gently nuzzling his hair. "Come. Leave Sir Ector alone… There are more important places for you to be." Lancelot almost whimpered. He nodded meekly and let his uncle lead him quickly away. Ector nodded gratefully to Bors. Bors nodded back.

When they were out of sight, Ector let Kay pull open the door and race out. His son's eyes darted wildly and furiously around, searching for Lancelot. "It's been dealt with, son," Ector said, shaking his head. Kay shot a furious and accusatory glare at his father, eyes narrowed. In them, though, Ector saw fear. "It's alright. Lancelot is just emotional. Give him time. If Bors can't calm him down, Galehaut will." Kay glared at his father and marched away, choosing to give the man the silent treatment. Ector sighed, massaging his temples. Why was being a parent such a stressful job? Well, for the most part it was alright, rewarding a lot of fun, but when it got bad, it got _really_ bad.

He looked woefully towards the Worcestershire gates. He was so afraid for Arthur… He needed to make a trip to Orkney, he determined, and confront Lot and beg for his child's freedom. He would give anything to have Arthur back… There was a whinny from outside. Ector sighed and went to the gates, silently commanding for them to be lowered. The guardsmen did so. He looked up to see who was entering and gasped, hand going to his chest in shock. "Arthur!" he cried out.

"Dad!" Arthur exclaimed the second he was through, leaping off his cloaked servant's horse and racing to the man, hugging him tight. "Dad, you should have seen it! It was so awesome. Gawain and Brandelis and my servant all just bursting in there and totally taking Lot off guard and releasing me. The guy didn't even know what hit him! Well, at first." He choked as suddenly Ector was hugging him in a bone-crushing grip. "Dad. Choking," Arthur said in a hoarse and struggling voice.

"You're alright. You're free! Oh, thank the gods! And Gawain, Brandelis, and your servant," Ector said, looking over at the three saviors with a deeply grateful expression.

"We couldn't just leave him there," Gawain said, flushing a bit. "It was my father's palace anyway. It wasn't like going home to save him was a big deal. Well, except for… Never mind. The point is everything's okay now. I mean, Uriens and Nentres are gonna be something ticked when they get back to school and see Arthur here, but there's really precious little either of them can do about it."

"I dread to see Galehaut's reaction," Brandelis said, grimacing.

"I knew it! I knew he had to have something to do with this!" Arthur said, flushing angrily. "Where is that creep? Ector, I can't believe you actually took him on. For _me_!"

"It's… not something I'm quite as proud of as you seem to think I am," Ector replied, wincing. "I acted in the height of emotion and it ended badly for too many… I don't regret it, though. What he did to you… I wasn't going to let it go unpunished." Arthur grinned, hugging him again. Ector held the boy back. "Find your brother. He's in a huff because I wouldn't let him fight Lancelot when Lancelot came to try for revenge."

"Wait, what?!" Arthur demanded, looking up at his foster father in shock.

"Don't you do it too," Ector said with a groan. "Lancelot isn't capable of defeating me, Arthur. Not yet. At best he would have joined Galehaut in the infirmary if he'd attacked."

"What if you're wrong?!" Arthur demanded.

"Do you need physical proof that for the time being I'm more skilled than he?" Ector asked, frowning.

"Yes!" Arthur replied.

Ector sighed. "Fine, then tomorrow during combat training I'll give you and Kay both a first-hand look," he said.

"Are you serious?!" Arthur demanded. "I didn't mean…"

"I'm serious," Ector cut off, frowning. His expression softened, and he reached out, gently cupping Arthur's cheek. "I'm glad you're alright," he softly murmured. "Go. Find Kay then come straight back to our quarters and clean up. Then present yourself alive and well to all those who'll see. By now news will have spread of your kidnapping. You want those quelled effective immediately. Never leave uneasy subjects guessing. Chaos ensues."

"Yes dad," Arthur replied, grinning. He returned to the cloaked Charming, looking defiantly at him as if to say 'see, someone cares'. Charming rolled his eyes and dismounted the horse to follow Arthur to find his brother.

Ector turned to Gawain and Brandelis. "Are you two alright?" he asked them in concern.

"I… I don't think dad's going to talk to me for a while…" Gawain admitted, wincing and bowing his head ashamedly.

"I'm fine," Brandelis brushed off, shrugging. "Wasn't a long stay in the cistern before Gawain got me out of it."

"Come. Tell me everything," Ector said. Nodding, the two followed the lord and told the tale of how they'd rescued the king with Arthur's servant.


	7. King Esclabor

_Act 2: The Saracen Princes_

(A/N: The song used by Lamorak to introduce himself, later on in this chapter, is called 'Lament of a Minstrel' by Falconer. Check it out on YouTube.)

King Esclabor

The battle rages on. I can see Safir nearby, fighting for all he's worth. The seventh greatest of all of us in prowess… He won't make it… He's swarmed. No one's there to come to his aid… And I don't think he cares… I think part of him can't wait… He is the last of his family still living. He was tired long ago. For us, though, he kept going… There's no us anymore… I want him to run… I want him to leave, but he won't. He will fight for my sake to death, and when I'm gone, should he manage by some miracle to outlive me, he'll fight for my body… He doesn't fight for long… A sword through the back, an anguished cry. A sword through the stomach, he doubles over. They stab over and over and over until he collapses to the ground… I want to cry, but I can't. I feel too numb to… I've been too numb for too long…

Past

To say Galehaut wasn't pleased to learn Arthur had been returned was an understatement. Uriens and Nentres had had the misfortune of informing him of it when they'd returned to Worcestershire only to find the boy king back and defiantly turning his nose up at them both, staying close to his growing clique. Uriens and Nentres had genuinely been afraid Galehaut would take it out on them or their children, but he'd been eerily calm about the whole thing. Almost like he wasn't overly surprised. Annoyed and disgruntled, but not surprised. He'd simply dismissed them and lain back down on the medical bed which he would be leaving in a day or so.

"Well that went… better than expected," Uriens remarked to Nentres, grimacing.

"So it would seem," Nentres replied. "Damn Lot. How could he let the boy king go like that?"

"He didn't," a voice said from nearby. They turned quickly, eyes narrowed. Gawain.

"You. It figures. I warned you to stay away," Uriens said with a sneer, getting right his nephew's face.

Gawain held his ground, glaring down at Uriens. "You should have known better," he replied. "What? You thought I'd just let it go? He's high king. Who were you even kidding?"

"Arthur's a sham at best, a usurper at worst," Nentres said.

"You're not that naïve, Uncle," Gawain replied.

Nentres grimaced, flushing. "Don't call me that," he muttered in slight embarrassment. Yeah, he was uncle through marriage, it just… made him sound old. For Uriens and Arthur, Gawain generally stuck with their names and only used 'uncle' on occasion, given the two were pretty well his age and it felt strange to him to call them 'uncle'. Nentres, on the other hand, was a fair bit older, about Cador's age, so it was just enough of an age gap that Gawain tended to lean more towards 'uncle' for he and Cador, to their disgust. He was… getting better. Except for when he decided to be a little s-h-i-t or wanted to get on their nerves.

"As long as he lives, as long as he sits on that throne, my sworn duty as a knight-in-training is to protect him. Even if it means protecting him from my own father," Gawain said. "I don't just get a kick out of going against you all."

"Screw you Gawain," Uriens said with a scoff, turning and marching angrily off.

"I'm trying to be the mature one, but in this case I'm gonna have to agree with him. Screw you Gawain," Nentres said, shooting him a lewd gesture and walking off. Gawain winced and bowed his head guiltily.

KAK

Uriens spied on Arthur from a balcony, glaring at him and his little group. Hanging around the 'king' were of course Dagonet and Alymere slash Astomar. Balan and Balin were there too, as were Kay and Bedivere. Griflet, Degore, and Lucan had taken to hanging around him lately too, the pathetic jerks, and at various times Gawain, Dinadan, and Accolon could be spotted getting chummy with him. The guy probably didn't even realize he was getting himself a little following, which would be great for him and the other rebel kings! Until Arthur got a clue. Uriens grimaced at the thought.

"Hi," a voice said from behind.

Uriens frowned and turned only to see Accolon. He grimaced. "What, we have a bro-scene in a canyon and suddenly we're friends again? Fat chance. Get out of my face you backstabber."

"Are you okay?" Accolon asked. "I can't imagine Galehaut was… thrilled."

Uriens subtly shuddered. "He was disturbingly calm," he said.

"Ooh…" Accolon replied, wincing. Galehaut being that calm was never, ever a good sign. "He's not gonna take it out on you, is he? Or your children?"

"I think he probably would have said if he was going to right off the bat. He's always preferred to describe the disciplinary actions he's about to take instead of springing them. Gives those he's about to punish a chance to petition and possibly get him to ease up or change his mind," Uriens said, allowing Accolon to keep accompanying him. At least for now.

"Does he _ever_ change his mind?" Accolon asked.

"He has a reputation for being noble of character, so yeah. He does," Uriens said. "Guy rules with an iron hand, but he's not unfair or ruthless. Just don't expect to get away with nonsense around him." He reached his locker and fished for the key to open it. Accolon leaned against the one next to it. "As long as he doesn't go after my children, I don't care what King Galehaut does. He tries to hurt Yvain and Ywain, though, I might just have to call a temporary truce with Arthur's family, go in there, and stab his sorry arse to death."

He yelped as suddenly his head was slammed painfully into his locker. "Hey rebel boy, get a good hit on Arthur yet?" a voice tauntingly asked.

"Back off Dinadan!" Accolon immediately defended, standing up straight and glaring at the older boy.

"The bromance back on? How cute," Dinadan said. "Guess some alone time in a canyon really got you guys going. Was it fun?"

"Shut up! He was badly injured, I wasn't in good shape, we were all but helpless, and come sundown the goblins started creeping, so no, it wasn't 'fun'," Uriens sneered.

Dinadan blinked. "Goblins?" he asked, suddenly alert.

"Yeah. There was this cave down there that we thought might be a way out, but Uriens wasn't going to leave me behind to go spelunking. Good thing too, because it was crawling with the vile creatures," Accolon said.

"Take me to it!" Dinadan said, sounding almost desperate.

"What? What's with…?" Uriens began. He stopped, remembering the whole saving Degore incident and the story about the goblin queen, then looked appalled. "Seriously?!" he demanded. "You depraved son of a bitch!"

"No I'm not going there for that!" Dinadan shot. "I'm on a time-limit here, pal. The goblin queen let me go on the condition I found her a goblin king. She's not gonna wait forever, and I'm not about to get kidnapped from my bed and dragged back down to goblin town to be her sex toy!"

"Thought you liked goblin, Din," Uriens sneered.

"Too much of a good thing and all that," Dinadan replied, brushing it off. "She's not my sort of deal anyway."

"Anything vaguely humanoid with fun bits is your deal," Accolon dryly said.

"Just lead me to the flipping canyon already! I'll _pay_ you to do it," Dinadan said.

"King. Don't need the money," Uriens replied, smirking.

"Not a king, need the money. Let's saddle up," Accolon said. Uriens shot him a dirty look. "What? We're not all royalty you know," Accolon said, shrugging. "Let's get a move on, Dinadan. With luck we'll be back by the end of lunch. Unless you get us captured."

"Or vice versa," Dinadan defended, following Accolon.

"I hope the goblins eat you both!" Uriens called after them. He shook his head hopelessly, throwing up his hands, and grabbed his things from his locker before heading off to go find something to do for lunch.

KAK

"It wasn't entirely clear to Dinadan why Accolon had seen it fit to invite Nentres along with them, but he could only assume it was either because Accolon didn't want to be alone with him, or more likely because this could be a very… delicate situation, and a king with some experience in dealing with delicate situations would come in handy. It had probably been a last-minute decision that he'd thought of on their way out. He likely hadn't wanted to find Uriens, and Nentres happened to be in the vicinity, so here he was travelling with a goth wannabe and a rebel king. Fun.

"Here it is," Accolon said as they reached the edge of a ravine.

Dinadan peered cautiously over and grimaced. "How did you survive _that_ fall?" he asked.

"Sheer dumb luck," Accolon replied.

"This is about where we pulled Accolon and Uriens up. The cave can't be far," Nentres said, eying the drop.

"I'm going in. Wish me luck!" Dinadan said.

"What, you're gonna dive and hope you survive?" Nentres bit. "Where's your plan for getting down, Dinadan?"

Dinadan tensed then grimaced. "Uh… back at school. Dammit, I knew I'd forgotten something!"

"Well, at least now you know where this place is," Accolon said, sighing hopelessly and shaking his head. Just then, in the distance, they heard the sound of an unfamiliar horn. They frowned, turning in its direction. Quiet. After a moment, it sounded out again. "What was that?" Accolon asked.

"Sounds like it's coming from the sea," Dinadan said. "A ship? Is a ship due to arrive?"

"No," Nentres said, slightly tense. "Come on, let's check this out." Immediately he rode towards the cliff. Dinadan and Accolon followed him.

They reached the cliffs in not too long at the pace they were going, and reigned in their horses at the edge, looking out over the sea. They gasped. In the distance was a large ship with sails unlike anything they were used to seeing! "Whoa…" Dinadan said. Drum beats could be heard along with the horn now.

"What is it? Where's it from?" Accolon uneasily asked.

Nentres was suddenly eerily silent and the other two looked over at him frowning curiously. "Nentres?" Dinadan asked on seeing how pale he looked.

"It's… it's a Saracen ship…" he said in a whisper.

"Saracen? What's it doing _here_?" Accolon asked, looking back towards it.

"Isn't that… a Babylonian symbol?" Dinadan uneasily asked, shifting a bit.

Nentres was quiet. "It's one ship. It can't be here for war," he muttered half to himself.

"War? Wait, what?" Dinadan said.

Nentres winced and looked over at the other two, shifting slightly. "The Saracens have been… aggressive as of late. They feel intruded upon by us, and they probably are, so they're pushing back. It's… escalating. In a not promising way. And they're among the greatest warriors there are, so as you can imagine, things are starting to get a bit, uh… let's say bloody?"

"A bit?" Accolon demanded.

"For now," Nentres said.

"That's not promising, Nentres!" Dinadan said. "How great of warriors are we talking here?!"

Nentres shifted. "They can contend with the best of the best," he finally said.

"And they're floating into Worcestershire?! That doesn't seem a little problematic to you at all?" Accolon shot.

"It does, actually, so we should probably get back and, you know, warn Pellinore? That flag was Babylonian. That means Esclabor is involved somehow."

"The emperor?! Oh, this gets better and better!" Dinadan shot, turning his horse and galloping back as fast as he could. He had two brothers back there he kind of wanted to keep alive. Nentres was hot on his heels with Accolon.

KAK

Pellinore listened in shock to Nentres, Dinadan, and Accolon's hurried narrative about the inbound ship. "Babylon? Are you certain?" he asked.

"Yes sir," Nentres replied, nodding.

"Yes! Finally!" Pellinore said.

"Huh?" Dinadan asked.

"Esclabor is a friend of mine," Pellinore said, laughing. "I owe the man my life. I wrote to him some time ago, extending an invitation for him to visit whenever he should like to. It's been literally years, but better late than never."

"You're sickeningly optimistic," Accolon flatly said. "What are the odds he comes just when things are getting bloody between the Arabians, Persian, and us?"

Pellinore smirked knowingly and walked away. "I'll return shortly. Don't sound the alarm just yet, boys. I'm sure there's a reason for this sudden visit," he said as he went, waving to them casually. They grimaced, exchanging uneasy glances, but reluctantly let it go. Nentres of course went to find his son and keep him close. Dinadan went to find his brothers. Accolon really had no one to find, except maybe Uriens' children, so just played it cool like everything was fine.

KAK

Pellinore rode down to the docks to greet the incoming ship in excitement. He reigned his horse in and dismounted, walking down the planks and watching the approaching ship as it gradually came in and pulled up alongside the dock before mooring. The wind blew his hair and cape lightly as he waited. His face broke into a grin as he saw a regal and noble man descend the lowered gangplank. The man was grinning widely as well, eyes on him, so it was apparent he harbored no animosity.

"Esclabor!" Pellinore greeted, going towards his friend with arms outstretched.

"Pellinore, my friend," he answered, embracing the man as Pellinore grinned. "It has been too long. I am only sorry I never came to visit sooner."

"I'll admit, it concerned some of my students and staff that you should decide to take up my invitation at a time when tensions between the Middle East and us were particularly high," Pellinore said.

"I regret they think that way too, but I understand it. I would think much the same were our positions reversed. Oh, it is good to see you again," Esclabor said.

"A joy for me as well. Come. I will accompany you and your men up to Worcestershire and put you up for the duration of your stay.

"I am afraid that stay will not be long. I was considering leaving this very day, I have much to attend to, but perhaps I shall stay one night," he said, smiling. "Truthfully I came here for only one purpose. I wish it had just been a social call, but it is not."

"What's wrong?" Pellinore asked, frowning in concern.

Esclabor shifted. "Come, let us get settled and then, my friend, I will tell you," he said. Pellinore nodded in reluctant agreement and looked back towards the ship. Three boys were curiously peering over the edge, teenagers who were probably anywhere between thirteen to eighteen. Esclabor followed his gaze and smiled a bit. "Oh yes, you have not yet met my sons yet, my old friend. Pellinore, these are my boys. Their names are Safir, Segwarides, and Palamedes."

"Fine young men, each one," Pellinore said, impressed. "Which is oldest?"

"Palamedes. He would be about Lamorak's age, actually," Esclabor replied. "I think they would get along quite well. Your son is a bard or troubadour, correct?"

"He is aspiring to be," Pellinore confirmed.

"Well, Palamedes is something of a poet and writer. Compliments to one another, I should think," Esclabor said.

"I would hope, but Lamorak is… flighty at the best of times, when it comes to making friends," Pellinore said. "He's something of a snob. Not in the 'I look down my nose at all of you' way, but more in a 'I don't trust anyone but my brothers, so give me a reason to trust you and maybe we'll talk' way."

"I suppose one cannot be too careful," Esclabor said, though it was obvious he was a bit mystified at the lack of trust in this place. Pellinore winced and forced a grin. Oh, if his friend had any idea the type of place Worcestershire had been turned into under Pynchley…

"Right. That. Uh, how about we head up then? You and your sons are welcome to stay in my personal quarters on campus and dine with me and my boys. My sons can pair up and clear two rooms for you and yours," Pellinore said.

"Would that not be a bit crowded?" Esclabor asked.

"I wish I could offer you a palace, friend, but I don't live at Worcestershire a majority of the time, and even if I did I couldn't presumptuously build myself a castle on campus. That would be begging for rebellion and trouble," Pellinore said, smirking. "Perhaps if your sons and mine hit it off, one of my boys can share a room with one of yours. Otherwise I can jam three of my own together. Percival is the smallest and youngest. He should be no trouble to fit in with his brothers."

"Thank you, Pellinore," Esclabor said. "Shall we?"

"Indeed," Pellinore replied.

Esclabor looked to his sons. "Come now boys, do not be suspicious!" he called to them. "Pellinore is an old and dear friend of mine." He turned to Pellinore. "I apologize for their caution. Threats of war have gotten them all… very upset and suspicious."

"No doubt," Pellinore replied, nodding.

The three boys cautiously approached. One of them was looking critically around. "This dock is a safety hazard," he flatly said.

Pellinore raised an eyebrow and looked around. It was a bit decrepit maybe, but a safety hazard? He was fairly sure most would know what was safe to do and what wasn't. "Forgive Safir. He is very… safety conscious… Very…"

"Ah," Pellinore said, nodding in understanding.

"I could write a whole list!" Safir fretted, moving about and probably checking off a mental checklist of things that were wrong or dangerous.

"Do. I would like to see how to improve the safety of my school and the surrounding land indeed," Pellinore said, honestly a bit impressed with how diligent the boy was. It promised to get annoying at times, but anything that helped protect his charges was something worth looking into in his books.

"Alright," Safir replied, pulling out a scroll of parchment and a quill and starting to scribble on it, frowning in agitation. Esclabor sighed. He supposed they'd be a good deal delayed getting to Worcestershire now, but he let it go for the time. Let Safir indulge. He'd had to lock the boy up in his room and not let him out for most of the voyage, he'd been in such a fit about the ship. It deeply concerned him. Anxiety or trauma was probably the base of his behavior, or both, and while he knew Safir suffered with anxiety, he had no idea what trauma, if any, could have been sustained. Safir had never spoken about anything in particular and tended to easily deflect the topic when it was brought up more directly. Hopefully his time here at Worcestershire would help him a bit.

KAK

Pellinore and Esclabor walked along the parapet of the school while Esclabor's sons explored Pellinore's chambers, getting settled. They probably wouldn't leave them today. It seemed they'd deemed the place something of a safety blanket and were sticking to it. Pellinore would just have to be sure he beat his boys home, so they wouldn't be royally freaking out to find strangers in their part-time house.

"Tell me, Esclabor, what's driven you to come visit me now when tensions are so high?" Pellinore asked after a time.

"You have answered your own question, friend," Esclabor said with a heavy sigh. "I have come _because_ tensions are so high. More specifically I… I have come hoping that perhaps you would… allow me to enroll my sons here? For a while?"

Pellinore paused, frowning in concern and examining his friend quietly. "You fear war is so close?" he finally asked. Esclabor was quiet, looking out over the horizon. Pellinore sighed through the nose. "You want them safe… When the children of kings or nobles are enrolled here, it's usually for much the same reason. I understand the fear well… Neutral ground."

"Yes," Esclabor said. "Will you take them, Pellinore?"

Pellinore grimaced, shifting a bit. "I will, but… but I won't lie to you and say Worcestershire is exactly… as neutral as it's billed. In the sense of politics, yes, but not when it comes to social environment. Under Pynchley the tone of the school became… competitive and at times very, very hostile. It became dog eat dog, and I can't promise that your boys will be necessarily one-hundred percent safe here. I can't even tell you they'll do well or be treated well here. I've done my best to reverse the damage Pynchley caused, but… Suffice it to say, it's difficult and slow coming."

"It will still be better for them here than if war should come to my gates… I do not want to lose them…" Esclabor said.

Pellinore nodded. "Then they may stay, but their stay might not be… pleasant. Stay a week instead of a night. Send your oldest out first. Let him get a feel for the place, and when he's judged it, he can go to his brothers and you and give his report. There are other neutral schools or locations for them to go should they decide this place isn't worth their breath." He'd hardly blame them if they did. "Once Palamedes comes back with his report, send your second oldest out to form one of his own. Then the third. Make your decision depending on their own."

Esclabor hesitated, not overly inclined to stay here so long, but then relaxed a bit. It might be a nice way to destress, perhaps? And he could return to his kingdom refreshed and ready for what may come. "Alright," he relented finally. "I will do it your way."

"I hope this place will be good for them, I really do," Pellinore said.

"As do I," Esclabor replied. "Now, perhaps we should get back before your sons beat us there."

"No doubt," Pellinore replied, wryly smirking. That would be a drama they decidedly didn't need. His sons had been… overtly protective as of late. Since the whole… the whole Miles fiasco… And the wounding of Griflet… He'd made a lot of potential enemies with those mistakes. Turning, the two of them headed back to Pellinore's quarters to wait for Pellinore's sons to return.

KAK

The two kings entered Pellinore's quarters and were greeted with the sight of Esclabor's three sons sitting nervously around the kitchen table. Esclabor winced and sighed. "This is for the best. You know it is," he said to them.

"Why can we not stay with you?" Segwarides questioned quietly.

"Because I do not want you in danger," Esclabor said.

"Life is dangerous, dad," Safir quietly said. "The safest thing to do is die, ultimately."

Esclabor frowned in concern, not sure what to make of the remark. "The safest thing to do is keep my children protected and away from potential battle for as long as possible. So that if the worst should happen, then at least I will have my heirs still, to take over my throne and rule."

"I doth not want thine rule, fair father," Palamedes said.

"Babylon is doomed to ashes anyway. There is not much of a point in taking over a nation that will ultimately fail and die and leave nothing but ruin, if that, behind," Segwarides dryly said. At this point they were just dragging out the inevitable. If his father had been ruler of pretty well _any_ other Middle Eastern kingdom, it might have been different, but no. It had to have been flipping Babylon. Hah! They were caretakers of an abandoned crypt.

"Nevertheless, that rule will be yours for as long as it happens to be around," Esclabor answered, frowning at his sons.

Palamedes sighed. "I wouldst fight with thee, abba," he said, looking over at the man.

"You would. But I will not let you," Esclabor said, arms folded as he glared seriously at his oldest. "You have your brothers to look after."

"Who also wouldst fight for thee!" Palamedes argued.

"You are still children!" Esclabor said. "I will not have it. Now drop it." Palamedes bowed his head again.

"Are you hungry, boys?" Pellinore gently asked. "I'll have my servants prepare you food if you should wish it."

"We are not hungry," Segwarides said in defiance of his stomach that dared to grumble on him.

"It isn't safe to eat food prepared by hands we don't trust in a potentially enemy nation," Safir said.

"Worcestershire is and has always been neutral ground. You're safe here. At least from outside forces. The wolves who go here on the other hand? Well, we'll see," Pellinore said. "Defend the weakest link or they'll leap on him and rip him apart." The three started and exchanged grimaces, not sure what to make of that. Was it really that bad in this place?

"I hope you are exaggerating," Esclabor said with a sigh, shaking his head. Or at least that the man was wrong and good would come of this. "So, when do classes end for your sons?"

Pellinore went to a window and checked the sundial. "In not much longer," he replied. "Fifteen minutes, thereabouts."

"Hold off on dinner until they return then, King Pellinore," Esclabor said.

"It'll take the cooks longer than that to make us all a worthy meal. There's no need to hold off, Esclabor, don't worry," Pellinore replied. Esclabor hesitated then decided to take his word for it, gratefully nodding. He had to admit, he was curious to meet his old friend's sons.

KAK

As expected, Pellinore's children were immediately hostile and guarded on seeing these four new faces. Pellinore would guess word of the Saracen presence had spread despite his efforts to keep it quiet, and word also of the tensions between nations. "Aglovale, Dornar, Tor, Lamorak, Percival, behave," he warned them sharply as they glared daggers at Palamedes, Safir, and Segwarides. Esclabor frowned warningly at his boys as well.

"Who are they?!" Dornar demanded, pointing.

"They are the sons of my good friend King Esclabor," Pellinore said, pointing at Esclabor. "You'll treat them with respect, am I clear?" His sons shifted and relaxed a little bit, though they were still on edge. "Their names are Palamedes, Safir, and Segwarides." He turned to Esclabor. "Esclabor, these are my sons. Aglovale, Dornar, Tor, Lamorak, and Percival. I have a daughter also, Dindrane, who should be here tomorrow. She's Percival's twin sister. There was… another son. Gurgi who was also Percival's twin, so I suppose I should use the word triplet, really… He died in childhood…"

"I am so sorry for your loss, Pellinore… And theirs," Esclabor said, expression softening and becoming grieved for his friend.

"Thank you," Pellinore quietly said, head hung. "It was… hard… At times it's still difficult. You want to say that life moves on, but after you've lost a child… It doesn't feel like life moves on anymore… Fortunately for me I had six others, so I was forced to keep going. For their sakes and the sake of my wife."

"You have done well with them, it would seem," Esclabor said.

"I wonder at times," Pellinore said, frowning at them. They were glaring daggers at Esclabor's sons again, and Percival and Segwarides were making rude faces at one another. He hopelessly rolled his eyes at his boys.

"Segwarides, behave! Set an example for Pellinore's sons, not a low bar," Esclabor sharply chastised. Segwarides winced and frowned, putting on a proud and stoic expression again.

"Excuse us?!" Aglovale demanded.

"They're certainly much more disciplined than mine," Pellinore said, smirking.

"Dad!" Tor protested. "I was behaving! More or less."

"We'll see," Pellinore replied. He looked at Lamorak. "Lamorak, Palamedes is your age. Maybe a few month's difference." Lamorak seemed to perk a bit up at this, becoming a little more curious than hostile now, glancing at the other warily but in some measure of interest. It was an improvement, at least. "You'll be sharing your rooms with them," he added. Immediately a chorus of protests from all sides broke out between the boys. Pellinore and Esclabor were less than impressed.

KAK

Percival and Tor were put together in a room, as were Aglovale and Dornar which might end badly, so Pellinore determined to keep an eye on that. Safir and Segwarides had been put in a room together, and Esclabor had been given his own. That left Lamorak to be stuck sharing a bedroom with Palamedes. Pellinore and Esclabor had both determined that would probably be the best matchup. They were the two most likely to connect and remain neutral, if not friendly, and were at an age where they would be a little more mature about it than Segwarides and Percival would be. Those two had struck up an instant petty rivalry with one another.

As they sat up together, Pellinore and Esclabor, Pellinore said, "Palamedes's English is impeccable. Better than some native speakers. I could detect hardly any accent at all." Esclabor and Segwarides had quite pronounced ones, Safir's was subtler and his English a bit more advanced, but it was still plain.

"Palamedes took an interest in learning English early on so he could read English poetry and tales. He is a great fan of poetry and localized legends. He was being tutored in it from the age of four and worked incredibly hard to master it. He has always been drawn to flowery sort of speech, taken from stories and books, giving no care to the oddity it makes him. Safir I started In English at five. He was… less diligent, but still interested in learning. Segwarides has studied it least. I put him into it at seven and he was less than enthused about learning it, but eventually took to it. Now he is at about my level," Esclabor replied. "Perhaps more."

"You are very proud of them," Pellinore noted, smiling.

"I am," Esclabor confirmed. "They are my world. Which is why they need to be kept safe here."

"I will do my best," Pellinore promised. He frowned worriedly up at the roof. Or rather the upstairs. "I hope Palamedes and Lamorak get along," he said in concern.

"Let it play out as it will," Esclabor said. Pellinore nodded.

KAK

Lamorak and Palamedes sat glaring at one another warily. The silence had dragged on for a long, to some uncomfortably long, while. Neither felt uneasy with it, instead taking the time to judge one another. "I ask thine pardon, fair prince, but whither am I to sleep? Upon a bed or upon the floor?" Palamedes finally asked.

Lamorak tilted his head slightly, summing the other up. "Upon the bed you rest your head and I upon the floor," Lamorak finally sang. Literally sang.

Palamedes blinked blankly, slightly taken aback. That was… odd. "Art thou a poet?" Palamedes asked.

"For the moon and the sun, and for the wind I've sung. Hear how the lovely tones dance upon my tongue. I've gazed upon Orion for oh so many nights, astounded by the beauty of the dark and sparkling sky. I'm a lonely minstrel, a traveller on a road to nowhere. I sing a song to lighten the day, so come along as I walk away," Lamorak sang back.

"Ah, thou art a minstrel!" Palamedes said, perking up in intrigue. "A writer and poet am I, fair prince. Hath thou a friend who playest with thee?"

"The lute's the only friend I've got by my side, who's shared my moments as I laughed and cried," Lamorak sang in reply.

"Verily I well knowest that feeling," Palamedes said, glancing down and away a bit sadly. Lamorak stared at him, looking slightly puzzled. He… wasn't remarking on the constant singing? Palamedes, noting his puzzled look, smiled. "I judgeth not thine quirks, fair prince. 'Tis an enjoyment for me to hear thee sing. Thou art skilled in thine craft, minstrel. Or dost thou prefer bard?"

Silence. "Minstrel," Lamorak finally and tentatively replied in a sort of singing speech, or singsong tone of voice, a bit on guard but starting to let it down a little. "I would think _you_ more bard than I."

"Perhaps, but art they not interchanged?" Palamedes asked.

"It… depends on who you ask," Lamorak answered.

Palamedes nodded, thinking the information over. "Thou mayst rest upon thine bed, fair prince. 'Tis no inconvenience to me to rest upon the floor."

"No, no, it's-it's fine. Take the bed," Lamorak said, getting off it to set up a place on the floor.

"Art thou certain? Verily?" Palamedes asked.

"Yes," Lamorak answered plainly.

"Gramercy, fair prince," Palamedes said.

"Lamorak," Lamorak replied.

"Lamorak," Palamedes corrected, smiling. Lamorak looked curiously back at him. He was of an… unexpected disposition. "I bid thee goodnight then, Sir Lamorak."

"Just… Lamorak. Not a 'sir' yet," Lamorak replied. Palamedes smiled and nodded in understanding before getting ready for bed. Lamorak stared at him a moment more, mystified, then shook his head and crawled into bed to sleep as well.


	8. Palamedes

Palamedes

Lamorak listened quietly to Palamedes and his father discussing Palamedes' excursion into the school. He'd learned they might be enrolled here. He kind of hoped they were. Palamedes seemed… okay so far. Which was more than he could say about a lot of other people in this school. He was about to leave with his brothers, but paused on hearing a bit of an argument between the Babylonian king and his heir. "Lamorak, come on," Dornar said. "Who cares what they're talking about?"

"Palamedes is nervous. Maybe we should wait?" Percival said, catching onto Lamorak's wave length.

"Why bother? The Saracen crown prince isn't our concern," Tor said.

"He's just gonna end up fresh meat if we let him go out there solo," Aglovale pointed out.

"That's his problem. This school's full enough as it is. Not a big deal if they decide it's not worth it, right?" Dornar replied.

Lamorak shifted a bit. "Okay," he finally relented. The five brothers left.

KAK

Eventually, Palamedes finished his conversation with his father. It had been a losing argument from the start. Why he'd tried to bother was beyond him. Nevertheless, he decided to try and be optimistic about it. He took his things and left King Pellinore's quarters to face Worcestershire. He smiled at those who gave him strange looks, curious about the newcomer in their midst. Some looked uneasy about his presence, but he guessed that was because of political tensions. He tried to be friendly, he really did, but it didn't seem that this place was overly friendly. Waves went ignored, attempts at conversation fell flat… It was kind of disheartening. Especially given odds were most students here had known one another since childhood. You'd think it would be tighter knit, but no.

His first class of the day had been politics, which bored him to tears. However, it was something he had to learn to do for when he took over his father's throne—if there was still a throne left to take over—and so he had waited it out just watching the minutes creep by. The class he was going to now would be Combat with Sir Ector. Melee combat was the focus today, he believed. He looked forward to it. It was a class he was eager to get to. He was the first one out of the room when Politics ended, hurrying towards the field where Combat would take place. So far the school day had gone okay, but it had only just started. He hoped it would keep up.

He reached the field, almost the first one there. He sat a little distance away from the couple other students that had arrived early and were now giving him wary looks, unsure of what to make of the new student. He tried to smile again. Again indifference. He grimaced and looked away. About five minutes later, the entire class had arrived and attendance had been taken. Palamedes noticed a particular duo that seemed to be inspiring awe. Other students were crowded around them, expressions ranging from nervous to sycophantic to excited. A third approached them and was welcomed by them. Palamedes looked around. "I beg thine pardon, good friend, but…"

"I'm not your friend," the person cut off.

Palamedes blinked and flinched. "Stranger," he amended.

The person gave him a look then sighed. "Sorry, just… not excited about class."

"Wilt thou deign to tell me why?" Palamedes said.

"God you're a weirdo," the other said, rolling his eyes. He looked over at the two boys who were being all but grovelled to, and their third companion. "Their names are Lancelot du Lac and Tristan de Lyons. Members of the jousting team. The top two combatants in this whole school, minus the teachers. The third guy is another member of the jousting team; a sycophant who hangs around Lancelot just to bask in his glory and leech off it to improve his own cred. His name is Galihoden, the Count of Honolan. He and Lancelot claim to be good buddies, but I'd be willing to guarantee that if Lancelot lost his position as top dog, Galihoden would drop him like a hot potato. Anyway, the reason they're being swarmed right now is because today's a duel day. Students get paired up, have to fight their way up until there are no further challengers… The guys that look nervous or scared? Begging or appealing to them to go easy on them, show some mercy. The guys sucking up? Hoping to win some favor or approval so maybe Lancelot or Tristan will decide to cut them a break. The ones that look excited? Just fanboys who'll be begging for mercy soon enough and will love it. Team Tristan, Team Lancelot. It's sickening."

"I dost pity those who face them first if truly they are so skilled," Palamedes said.

"Don't. It's a given they'll make it to at least the last five matches, so they'll probably be sitting out until then. On occasion Ector will pit them against each other from the start, but then the rest of the time is just spent with the winner curb stomping every other sorry sap who faces them almost right through to the end," the boy said.

"What means this 'curb stomping'?" Palamedes asked.

"It means they wipe the floor with them. Totally annihilate them. One, maybe two or three swing battles. Five if you're lucky," the boy said.

"What of thee?" Palamedes asked.

The other was silent, then smirked. "You'll see," he answered. A fourth boy joined the other three. "That's Sagremore le Desirous. To himself. Sagremore le Impetuous to everyone else. Competitive bastard, member of the jousting team… He and I usually end up butting heads. I'm into sports, he's into competition no matter the type, so yeah. You can guess where that goes. Anyway, better start to get ready, new guy. You probably won't last long, but hey, best foot forward anyway."

"Palamedes," Palamedes introduced. Hey, it was the longest conversation he'd managed to have thus far.

"Geraint, or Erec, whichever you want," the boy answered, rising and walking off to get his pair-up assigned. Palamedes considered the words then rose to get his own also.

KAK

It was exhilarating, to say the least. He was thoroughly enjoying this duel day, grinning excitedly and eagerly and taking out every opponent put against him with ease. He wasn't aware of the looks he was starting to get, or the whispers that were starting to spread, or the glares, or the shock, or the unease. He was totally unaware how much attention he was getting, unaware that he was painting himself with a target. All he knew was he was doing exceedingly well, and he was quite proud of himself. He would congratulate each opponent for a well-fought fight and wasn't sure why they looked totally mystified as to his good sportsmanship. He was unaware that now those who were left were starting to stare in disbelief, eyes fixed on him in shock like they couldn't believe this stranger in their midst, this upstart, was making it this far! They'd never even heard of him before, and now here he was mopping the floor with them?

He made it to the top five pairings, coming into it in a light sweat but little more. He pushed into the final three not much worse off. He paused to drink from a basin, still oblivious to the looks he was getting, and turned to summarize the others who were left. They were all staring. He assumed they were waiting for him to join them and approached, smiling at them. Lancelot, Tristan, Galihoden, Sagremore, Geraint, him. Those were the ones left. He thought the utter silence was normal for this class. He didn't know better. The teacher, Sir Ector, looked slightly concerned. He thought it was for all of them. He didn't know it was only for him.

"A-alright, then… Your final pairings will be Sagremore and Tristan, Galihoden and Lancelot, and Geraint and our new student Palamedes," Ector said. "Take three minutes, catch your breath, then we begin."

Geraint immediately dragged Palamedes aside. "What are you doing?" he hissed in a whisper.

Palamedes frowned, a bit surprised at the urgent tone. "Um… attending class?" he answered.

"You're painting a target on your back. Are you crazy? No new kid who comes here to this class just goes all out first day and tries to reach the top! No one smart shows their full potential. You're going to get yourself ostracized! Lancelot doesn't take well to competition, dude. You want the jousting team down your throat?"

"I understand not thine meaning, good Erec. 'Tis well when one dost try his best at whatever it is he might do," Palamedes said.

"But not here, man," Geraint replied. "Not here. You're in a wolf den, and you have no clue what you're getting into." The bell rang to begin. Geraint and Palamedes looked over then back to each other. Geraint let him go, stepping away and drawing his blade. "You're already a dead man walking," he added ominously. Palamedes was visibly shaken and uneasy now. Geraint went at him swiftly. He parried the strike, moving quickly back. Erec was very good, he noted. He began to swing and slash and cut rapidly, but Geraint's defence was impeccable. Geraint began to strike quickly in turn. He actually managed to land a couple hits, but not enough to knock Palamedes down for the count. Palamedes swiftly dodged the attacks as they came, and began to strike with the elbow, getting close. Geraint yelped in pain as he was battered back. Palamedes moved quickly away and stabbed, stopping short of striking Geraint. It would have been a death blow in a real fight, so Geraint lowered his blade and shook his head at Palamedes warningly before turning and walking away, obviously wanting nothing more to do with him. Palamedes shifted uncomfortably. Why, he wondered? Fear? He looked over at Lancelot and Tristan. Both had taken out their own opponents, knocking them to the ground and coming out victorious.

Ector approached the two jousting team members. Palamedes went over too, a bit more tentatively. Lancelot, spotting him, scowled darkly. Palamedes paused uncertainly. "I get him first," Tristan said, seeming more intrigued with him than malicious like Lancelot had appeared.

"Take him," Lancelot said. "Put him in his place."

"I love how you think you can tell me what to do," Tristan murmured back to him, giving him a warning look. Lancelot frowned and scoffed, walking away. As he moved passed Palamedes, he harshly nudged him. He sat next to Galihoden and Sagremore to watch the fight take place. Palamedes looked uneasy with the treatment, then turned to Tristan.

KAK

Tristan and Palamedes stood across from each other, Palamedes looking a bit more uncertain now, but not because of who he was facing. More because of Geraint's warning. Tristan drew his sword but made no move. Palamedes swung his around and tried for a smile again. "I wish thee the best of luck, Sir Tristan."

"It isn't sir, but I appreciate the sentiment," Tristan replied. "If you have to use a title, use squire. That's what most of us are here. Pages and squires."

"Oh. Gramercy, friend," Palamedes said, bowing to him gratefully. Tristan took the opportunity to go at him. Palamedes dodged swiftly to the side, parrying the blade, and slashed at him. Tristan barely got his sword up in time, and let loose with a barrage of slashes and cuts. Palamedes moved swiftly away, switching sword hand as he went so he was never at a disadvantage. Tristan was totally thrown, kept suddenly busy fighting from two sides. Palamedes was swift and sure, and Tristan half expected he was capable of using both his hands equally well. Merlin had called it 'ambidextrous', but had said that word wouldn't come into play for another thousand or so years. None of the class had asked how the wizard knew that, just had taken his word for it. Tristan and Palamedes kept at each other for five minutes straight—two minutes longer than any other match—before the tides finally turned…

"Do you have equal use of both hands?" Tristan asked, starting to have a problem keeping up and hoping conversation would distract the other.

"Aye, squire Tristan! I taught myself how," Palamedes said. Tristan was quiet. So it wasn't a natural born thing. Was there then a possibility one side was still less trained? Therein would be his weakness. He didn't get the chance to determine the answer to that, though. Suddenly Palamedes dropped and spun, kicking and knocking his legs from under him. Tristan cried out a he fell, and suddenly Palamedes' saber was at his throat! A collective gasp went through the spectators. Tristan blinked, eyes wide. Wait… what had just happened? It took him a second to process his loss. When he did, his lips slowly parted in awe. Rarely ever had he come in anything lower than second before! Palamedes smiled at him and withdrew the blade, offering his hand. "An honor 'twas to have fought against thee, squire Tristan. Thou wert a most worthy opponent."

Tristan was quiet, staring at him, then looked at the offered hand. Finally, he took it and allowed the other to help him up. He stared at him a second before nodding and turning, walking to the bleacher where the others sat. Lancelot was slack-jawed. "Sorry," Tristan murmured to him. He didn't owe Lancelot an apology of any kind, he just… felt compelled to say it. In case he'd let the other down. Not that he cared, it was just the courteous thing to do.

Lancelot must have figured he meant it, because the answer he gave was sincerer than Tristan had expected. "Don't worry about it. He threw you off. We'll work on your balance and multitasking next practice," he said. Tristan paused, looking at him in vague surprise. Lancelot was rising already and heading out to meet Palamedes, leaving Tristan looking after him quietly. That was… unexpected of Lancelot.

KAK

Lancelot glared darkly at Palamedes as he approached. "Merry be, squire Lancelot. Thine prowess and skill is spoken of in highest regard. 'Twill be mine honor to spar with thee," Palamedes said.

"Up yours! I'm not here to play nice with you, outsider. You don't belong here. No one asked for more dweebs to show up," Lancelot said, holding out his sword and swinging it like it was an extension of his own arm. He was that good. Palamedes noted it and frowned. This match might actually outlast even his match with Tristan. "Now get up your sword and come at me!"

Palamedes looked up at him only to gasp. Lancelot was already right there! He yelped as he was tackled to the ground. Lancelot swung harshly down. Palamedes just got his sword up in time and kicked Lancelot's stomach, staggering him before rolling out of range of another swing. He nimbly returned to his feet, eyes wide, and got his head in the game fast. This might get dicey. Lancelot was relentless, attacking at every opening there was and landing more than a few hits that drew blood!

"Lancelot, this is a spar not a real fight!" Ector sharply warned from the sidelines.

Lancelot pointedly ignored him, and Palamedes kept up his defense. Suddenly he went on the offensive too, matching Lancelot blow for blow. He couldn't beat him in swordplay, he knew, so he'd try something else. He suddenly delivered a driving kick to Lancelot's torso, winding him. Palamedes came in quick and began bashing his opponent with his elbow. He'd go for the face, usually, but this wasn't a serious fight, so he aimed for the collarbone and shoulders. He kicked again, spinning, and swing his arm, whipping Lancelot across the face with the hilt of his sword but really pulling his punch. It was still hard enough that Lancelot cried out in pain, dazed. Palamedes came in with the sword again. Once, twice, three times… Lancelot was having trouble, disoriented and slightly dizzy from the hit. Palamedes swung at his stomach. Lancelot dodged it and swung around at Palamedes' side. Palamedes blocked the hit then suddenly ducked and lunged, flipping Lancelot over his head and slamming him on the ground! He spun around and brought his sword down. Lancelot managed to block it, looking horrified, and the two pushed against one another's weapons powerfully. Lancelot threw Palamedes back and spun to strike again only for Palamedes to move, knocking his arms out from under him, and turning his sword so that in a real fight, Lancelot would have fallen on the blade and had his throat cut, if he weren't beheaded. Last second, however, Palamedes turned the blade so that Lancelot instead landed on the flat. Lancelot was defeated.

KAK

Palamedes grinned widely in excitement. He'd done it. He'd beaten him! His excitement, though, vanished when he registered the cries of shock and stunned mutters that went through the crowd, along with some gasps and shocked screams or exclamations. He looked around into the expressions and faces of the spectators, ranging from stunned to scared to furious to guarded and suspicious to dark and threatening… Suddenly he became acutely aware of everything he'd thus far been oblivious to…

He knew immediately he made a mistake when he saw the way Lancelot looked at him. This wasn't just a class or friendly spar to these ones. This was honor and glory and credibility. This was authority and dominance. This was… very, very bad. Lancelot shot up, shoving him roughly away with a furious cry and rising, expression dark and murderous. Palamedes stared up at him uneasily, then looked around again. The shock of the students was becoming anger and fear and everything he decidedly did _not_ want to be eliciting in the spectators. Suddenly he wasn't just a strange new kid. He wasn't just a new schoolmate who had some talent. He was an active threat, a challenge to the status quo… He was an enemy prince from an enemy nation with whom they were at war, and he'd just taken out their two best fighters…

The fear was suddenly a lot more understandable. If Lancelot and Tristan couldn't stand to one Saracen, how would their own nations fare against an _army_ of his kind? Knowing Lancelot and Tristan could beat him? That would have eased a lot of uncertainty that had been spreading since their arrival. They'd know he could be defeated… But Lancelot and Tristan _hadn't_ won… Sir Ector was visibly afraid for him, Palamedes suddenly realized, intently watching the other students for any sign of attack. Tristan watched him quietly and calculatingly. Geraint wasn't even looking at him, eyes shut like he expected a mob to form and didn't want to see what would happen. The murmuring was getting louder, the restlessness more pronounced… Then suddenly a blade was heard being drawn… A gasp went through the students present, then utter silence. Palamedes tensed and turned around, on guard. His lips parted in awe and disbelief. Approaching him, expressionless, was none other than Lamorak!

KAK

He'd come upon the sight on his way to collect something for his father. Palamedes decimating Geraint. Then Tristan. He'd seen the expressions of the other students and his heart had dropped. He realized immediately Palamedes was oblivious to the whispers, the mutters, the unease… He had willed Tristan to win, but Tristan hadn't. For the first time in his life he willed _Lancelot_ to win… He didn't… The fear permeated the air, and he saw immediately things were going to get… bad for the young prince. He saw how desperately the others needed to be reassured. They needed to know he could be beat. They needed to know _they_ , the Saracens, could be beat. They had families preparing to face the threat from the Middle East. Doubtless there would be war with them, and if the two best couldn't beat just one, how could their families, the people they loved and cared about, hope to stand to a whole army? So, he did what his gut told him to do. He went down, and _he_ took on the Saracen. Just to prove it could be done. Really, he didn't understand how Tristan and Lancelot couldn't figure out how to beat him.

Now Ector and Palamedes and everyone else gaped at Lamorak like he'd lost his head. "Lamorak?" Ector finally asked.

Lamorak looked at him, then back at Palamedes. "I challenge him," he said simply.

Ector was quiet. "You choose to show them now?" he finally asked. Few had ever seen Lamorak in action. He was privately tutored by Ector and others, on Pellinore's orders.

"I do," Lamorak replied. He spun his sword once and smirked. "Don't hold back."

"I never do," Palamedes answered, sounding a bit upset he hadn't understood the mistakes he was making sooner. But it was too late to hold back now anyway, so he wouldn't go easy on his fellow prince.

They went at each other at the same time, sprinting across the way and clashing. It was an instant flurry of slashes and stabs and hacks, the duo moving so swift and deft the spectators could only gape. It took Lamorak all of two seconds to figure out why Tristan and Lancelot had failed so badly. Both of them relied on power more than speed, and their focus was on making their weapons extensions of themselves. Palamedes toyed with a perfect balance of power and speed, leaning more towards whichever seemed to be his opponent's weakness. He didn't make his weapon an extension of himself, he made his _body_ an extension of his _weapon_. He used martial arts as a compliment of his swordsmanship, and so while Tristan and Lancelot had both been focusing on his weapon changing hands and all that fancy, distracting stuff, he'd used his body as his takedown tool. Get your enemy on the ground, generally you had it made.

So Lamorak didn't focus on the saber. He focused on the body.

Try as he might, Palamedes couldn't land a kick or elbow. That is to say sometimes he did, but when he managed Lamorak was ready and defended from it while at the same time not taking his focus off the saber that tried to sneak in for a killing blow. Palamedes went for a high kick. This time Lamorak caught his leg and held it, locking it up and forcing Palamedes to stand on just one. Palamedes struck with the saber but Lamorak blocked it. However, Palamedes still had a hand free and went to deliver a blow. Lamorak threw himself down to the ground, taking Palamedes with him and putting them both in a bad situation. He released the other's leg to better focus on defending from the weapon, but made sure Palamedes stayed fighting on the ground, at best letting him only get to his knees. On the ground, Palamedes was totally off-kilter. Lamorak wasn't. He was lithe and relied on speed more than power, and while Palamedes could offset that by using power, his balance between the two was also his weakness. Now, on the ground, he had neither power nor speed to rely on. Lamorak still had the speed. In seconds he managed to get behind him and sling his sword around, pressing it against Palamedes's throat and locking position. He withdrew it and struck Palamedes up the back of the head, knocking him to the ground then pressing the tip of the sword to the back of his neck, refusing to take a victory with the first move and instead pinning him with this one just to lord it over him that he could. A taunt, in a way.

There was dead silence.

Lamorak finally smiled and rose, letting Palamedes up. Palamedes rolled over and gaped at him in stunned disbelief. "I don't get why you had such a problem, Lancelot, Tristan," Lamorak said, turning to them with a wicked smirk. "He was good but not unbeatable." Their eye bugged even wider. That was the longest Lamorak had gone without singing his sentences for _so_ long! Voice was still sing-song, admittedly, but that was just its natural tone. He turned back to Palamedes and offered his hand with a smile. Palamedes, still stunned, reached up in shock, taking it. Lamorak pulled him to his feet, smiling at him.

"What the hell was that?!" Sagremore suddenly blurted out in disbelief. It was echoed by a chorus of questions and demands to back it. Lamorak winced, looking nervously over at the other students watching. Palamedes shifted in unease. "He took out Tristan and Lancelot. How did _Lamorak_ defeat him?!"

"Because skill-wise, Lamorak is second only to Tristan, who is second only to Lancelot. He's third place on the overall combat scale in this school," Ector said, almost groaning. He was pinching the bridge of his nose and Lamorak winced. Yeah… dad wasn't going to be happy with him for revealing his abilities like this…

"He's _what_?!" Galihoden freaked. Ector sighed. Oh, Pellinore would have his head.

KAK

Lamorak and Palamedes walked quietly side by side. They'd been sent away given the antsy behavior of the other students who were still freaking out over their displays. It had been for their own safety that they were allowed to leave early. Ector had been subtle about it, though, so there shouldn't be too much resentment about it. "Gramercy," Palamedes finally said in a quiet voice.

"That's what friends are for," Lamorak sang back.

"Friends? Verily? Hardly dost we knowest one another, minstrel prince," Palamedes said, though he sounded more hopeful than unsure.

"Prepare for trouble, make it double," Lamorak sang back, playfully nudging him.

"Thou carest not?" Palamedes asked.

Lamorak was quiet, thinking the question over. "I've never… had friends. Not really," he finally answered, dropping the singing.

"Nor I," Palamedes admitted a bit sadly. "This seems not the sort of place to foster such bonds."

"Welcome to hell," Lamorak sang. "It isn't. Or we're just too blind to see when there's opportunity for friendship…"

"What dost thou mean, fair friend?" Palamedes questioned.

"One look in his eyes, I realized, his life was so simple he had no disguise," Lamorak sang slightly absently by way of an answer.

"What dost thou mean?" Palamedes asked.

Lamorak dropped the singing again and looked at him. "When you're talking to people here, you usually can't tell if they trust you and you don't know whether to trust them either. They may come across as okay, but… but it's always a mystery whether there's genuine interest or whether they're just being cordial or whether they're sizing you up to stab you in the back later," Lamorak answered. "But you're not a mystery, and you're not blinded by distrust or distrustful yourself, so I can see it plainly with you. That there's nothing to hide and that you're genuine about whatever you say or do. There's no ulterior motive."

"Ah. There lies the rub. Trust. 'Tis sorely lacking in this place," Palamedes said.

"The school's been scarred. Maybe you, and people _like_ you, could help fix that one day and be an ointment for it," Lamorak said, shrugging. "And help people who want to help it too, to maybe find the courage to do so?"

"Is that what didst happen with thee, when thou camest to fight with me?" Palamedes sang, teasing Lamorak's way of speaking.

Lamorak smiled and looked ahead, smile falling a bit. "It might have been," he finally admitted.

"Art there others? Who might help?" Palamedes asked.

"Yeah… The last one any of us expected would… But he doesn't realize what he's managing to do. He doesn't see," Lamorak said. Palamedes tilted his head curiously. "His name is Arthur Pendragon," Lamorak stated.


	9. Safir

Safir

The day passed in relative peace. Palamedes' report to his father was overall good, to King Pellinore's surprise. He'd expected more bad than that, but the day had been mostly tame for Palamedes. Tomorrow, then, Safir would join him. Night came and went. Palamedes and Lamorak left together ahead of their brothers, who were slower getting ready. Less eager. Safir actually held back until all the others had gone say for Segwarides and his father. Segwarides was sleeping in, as he wasn't going to school today, and Esclabor was watching his son quietly.

"Safir, you must go. The first bell will soon be rung," Esclabor finally said.

"When it rings, I'll go," Safir replied.

"You cannot go the whole day like that," Esclabor stated. Safir was quiet. "What is wrong?"

"This whole thing is stupid! Why can't I just stay with you?" Safir asked.

"You know my answer," Esclabor replied. Safir looked ready to argue, but just then the first bell run. "Go. I will see you tonight," he prompted. Sighing, Safir turned and left.

KAK

The first class was an utter nightmare. The recently reinstated Magic and Alchemy teacher, Merlin, was a kook straight from the crazy factory, and his horrible, definitely unsafe, mess of an Alchemy classroom reflected it. It had been a class of 'Mr. Merlin, this is unsafe' 'Mr. Merlin, that's unsafe' 'Mr. Merlin, are you out of your mind? You could kill us!' 'Mr. Merlin, I refuse to participate in this until you make it safer.' Yeah. They'd clashed. And he was basically a laughing stock the whole time, but he didn't see why! He was just trying to protect them from disaster. If anything, they should be grateful he'd made Merlin put away his potentially deadly potions and explosive concoctions that could obliterate the school. Instead he was heckled mercilessly as he left. The next class, things went from bad to horrible.

Warfare. A class he did _not_ want to do. He stared fretfully at the weapons lined up in the classroom against the walls for display. He noticed the teacher walking by. "Sir, I mean King, Galehaut? King Galehaut, these blades are too sharp to be safely kept in a classroom," he said.

Galehaut looked at him. So did the rest of the class. A hush. Then they began to laugh. Galehaut frowned and gave them a warning and vaguely threatening look. They fell immediately silent. Galehaut turned back to him and approached. "What do you mean, Safir?" he asked.

"I mean they could be tripped on or fall down and be stepped on, or they could be fallen on, or if a fight broke out someone might get it into their heads to try and use them," Safir said. "They shouldn't even be in here! But if they have to be they should be fastened, shouldn't they?"

Galehaut nodded, considering the remarks. "They should," he admitted.

"Boo!" the class called out. Safir winced, looking back. They didn't look happy with him.

"The students like to play with them when they're out," Galehaut said. "Generally, I allow it, but you bring up good points." A chorus of protests went up, and Safir shifted a bit. "Silence!" Galehaut shot sharply. They quieted down. He turned to them. "For today they may remain out. I need to bring up the matter with Pellinore and get his take on it." Again the booing, and Safir swallowed a little nervously. He felt like he'd made a big mistake…

He tried to pay attention in class, he did, but with objects being thrown at him every few seconds, it was hard. When the lecture was finished, and work time began, it got worse. "Hey new kid, look at me. I'm playing with the scary sickle. Ooh, so terrifying," someone taunted. Safir didn't look up, not wanting to fuel the taunting. "Oops!" the person said, throwing the sickle onto his desk. Safir started, pulling back in unease, then frowned over at the heckler and picked the weapon up, rising and replacing it. "Scary tripping!" the person said, tripping him. He yelped as he fell, and the one hassling him pushed the weapons down so they fell on top of him. He gave a cry of alarm, protecting his head and face immediately. Laughter rang out.

"Galihoden, enough!" Galehaut sharply ordered. The boy, Galihoden, winced and frowned back at the teacher before begrudgingly returning to his seat. Right behind Safir of course. Safir climbed out of the weapons pile and began to pick them up, putting them safely out of the way as best he could. He sat back down and tried to work again.

"Hey Safir, your brother—at least I assume he was your brother—made quite a splash yesterday," Galihoden whispered to him from behind. "We weren't impressed. Tell him to watch his back. You don't humiliate the jousting team and walk away unscathed."

Safir started and spun. "Excuse me?" he said. "Are you threatening my brother? It's not his fault you just suck!" He yelped as Galihoden struck him sharply.

"Galihoden, I said enough!" Galehaut snapped viciously, shooting to his feet.

"We were just playing! Isn't that right, buddy?" Galihoden replied, getting Safir into a head lock and messing up his hair.

"Let me go!" Safir protested.

"Sure thing," Galihoden replied, shoving him forward roughly.

"If you make one more mistake, boy, I'll see you in the principal's office without hesitation," Galehaut threatened.

"I didn't do anything!" Safir protested. The class burst into laughter.

Galehaut gave him a dubious look, but softened his gaze on seeing Safir's mortification at what he'd just said. He realized his mistake. "I know," he answered. "So you won't be going with him." Safir was quiet, looking miserable.

"You're screwed at lunch," Galihoden murmured from behind him. Safir's eyes narrowed and he raised his hand. "Tattle. I dare you," Galihoden said.

"Yes Safir?" Galehaut asked.

Safir was still. After a moment he answered, "I'm sorry sir. I had a question but just realized the answer." Galehaut raised an eyebrow but didn't press.

"Good boy. Stay this obedient and complacent, and you might make it," Galihoden said.

"Screw you," Safir replied under his breath. He hissed in pain as Galihoden hit him up the back of the head.

"Galihoden, you must think me a complete and utter fool," Galehaut said, not looking up. "Just because I don't see you, doesn't mean I can't infer what you're doing. Pack up your things and get out. You'll go straight to Pellinore's office. If you don't, you'll rue the day."

Galihoden was silent. After a moment he began packing up silently. Apparently Galehaut wasn't a guy you played, Safir deduced. As he passed by, he knocked the glass of water Safir had on his desk to the floor. "Ooh, look, safety hazard. Better mop it up, kid," he said. Galehaut got up. Galihoden all but yelped and booked it out of the room.

Galehaut chased him right out of the school and glared darkly after him until he darted into Pellinore's office. Satisfied, he returned to his classroom, entered, and started on seeing Safir, sure enough, mopping up the mess as others taunted him and heckled. Galehaut scowled furiously. "Enough!" he ordered. They all went silent immediately. Safir continued mopping furiously, staring at the ground and looking like he was fighting back tears. "Get out. All of you. Since it's apparent you can't focus in the presence of someone who gives a damn about you, you're free to go. Good luck deducing the homework you're to do without my telling you what it is. It's due tomorrow. And worth two percent of your whole grade." Immediately protests rang out. "Don't test me!" Galehaut shouted, slamming a stick down on his desk. "Get out!" They all but fled, scrambling over one another to escape the incensed teacher.

Galehaut glared furiously until every single student was out, say for Safir. Safir stopped mopping and sniffed, wiping his eyes quickly and hoping the teacher didn't notice. Galehaut looked over at him. "I-I'll just finish up and-and go, sir," Safir said.

"No. You stay," Galehaut said. Safir was quiet. "Put down the mop." After a moment, Safir obeyed and sat quietly back down. Galehaut silently summed him up. "Would you like something to drink?" he soon asked. Safir shook his head. Galehaut sighed through the nose and rose, walking towards him. He pulled out a chair and sat straddling it, facing Safir. "The weapons will be fastened tomorrow. Permission will need to be given before they're taken down."

"No, I-I don't want to ruin things for them," Safir said.

"Are you afraid of them?" Galehaut asked.

Safir was quiet. "I'm afraid of being hated," he finally answered.

"Hmm… So am I…" he murmured in response. Safir looked curiously up. The king smiled gently. "You'd never guess it the way I seem to make enemies," he ruefully said, shaking his head. "But in my position, I suppose there's no escaping it."

"I just… I don't like things being… I don't know," Safir said. "I don't know why I'm like this."

"There are worse things to be than safety conscious, even if it's a bit overmuch… You have this-this inborn need to protect, I think, and that's why you do the things you do. Or part of it," Galehaut said. "That's what you're doing, you know, by suggesting these things. You're protecting others. That's never a bad thing, Safir. They just may not understand that. If you'd like, I can get you an appointment with Bors the Elder, our councillor, to help you manage it a little better. All you need to do is ask. Think about it."

Safir nodded quietly. "What's the homework?" he asked.

"You're exempt," Galehaut said. "You've done nothing worth punishing."

"Thank you, sir," Safir quietly answered. Galehaut nodded and left him alone to stay for as long as he felt he needed to.

KAK

So, morning was a bust. No surprise. Afternoon was worse. It started with lunch and everybody who had caught onto his quirk, or heard of it, exploiting it and driving him half insane watching them do things that were so utterly stupid and unsafe. Throwing their trays and food at people, dropping things on the floor and not picking them up, dancing on the tables until the teachers chased them off. He finally booked it out of the cafeteria just to get away from the madness. And of course, ran straight into Galihoden and the jousting team, who looked like they'd just found a nice, big, juicy slab of fresh mutton.

"This the little loser you were talking about. One who got you in trouble?" Lancelot said.

"Yep. Freak of a kid. Obsesses over the stupidest things, happens to be the brother of that Palamedes guy who wiped the floor with you…" Galihoden began. He made a choking sound as Lancelot grabbed his throat, scowling darkly. He grinned innocently, shrugging. Lancelot scoffed in disgust, shoving him back, and focused on Safir again.

"I didn't get him in trouble. He got himself in trouble," Safir said.

"Don't talk back, don't fight," Lancelot said. "You won't last here if you do. Just think of this as an initiation into Worcestershire. It won't hurt. Too much."

"What? What are you…?" Safir began. He yelped as suddenly he was seized and roughhoused away. "Hey, let me go! Stop it! Help! Someone help!" No one of course did, despite there being plenty of people who could have. Heckling him and snickering, they dragged him into the latrines. Suffice it to say he freaked out, thrashing and struggling. Suffice it to say, he failed to escape and was soon suffering utter and complete degradation and humiliation from all of them.

"This unsafe, new guy? This dangerous at all?" they'd taunt. "Think of the great diseases in there! How's this for safety?"

They dragged him back out and threw him in the dirt looking mortified and coughing and frantically wiping at his face. He scrambled up and raced away as they laughed. He ran straight to a fountain and began scrubbing fervently. Only to be caught and shoved under it. He thrashed desperately until they pulled him up. He gasped and sputtered, tore away, then booked it. He ran straight to his next class. As luck would have it, more than one member of the team had the _same_ class. And the next. Every moment of his day was bad and there wasn't one speck of respite.

He stumbled in close to supper, just as his family was getting ready to search for him, staggering and bruised and soaking wet and reeking because why not finish the day with another dunk in the chamber pots? He froze on seeing his father and brothers, and Pellinore and his sons, gape at him in shock and horror. He looked at them, utterly still, and his mouth quivered a bit. "I hate this place!" he finally blurted. "And I hate _you_ for making me _go_!" he added to his father before racing passed, darting up the stairs and slamming the door behind him.

"Safir, wait! What happened? Son!" Esclabor called fearfully after him.

He made to pursue, but Pellinore put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. "Not now," he warned. "Let him calm down a bit."

KAK

He didn't calm down. He locked the door, curled in on himself, and just wept. He didn't answer the pleas of his brothers, he didn't answer the pleas of his father, he didn't answer anyone at all. They gave up after about the hundredth try. Palamedes stood outside the door, deeply concerned and really, really wishing his brother would talk to him. Lamorak was with him, having silently joined him some time ago. He was grateful for his presence. "He hath gone through hell," Palamedes finally said.

"You're _in_ hell," Lamorak replied. "That's what this place is."

Palamedes was quiet. "There must be _something_ we mayst do for mine brother," he said. "A contact, a guide, a companion who shall tend him through the morrow… Anything!"

Lamorak was quiet, thinking. "There's… someone I know. He owes me a favor," he said.

"Prithee tell thine plan, mine friend," Palamedes pled.

Lamorak shifted, grimacing. "I… can con him into hanging out with Safir tomorrow. He's, uh, eager to please. And as far as I know has a kind and soft heart… Maybe too much so…"

"Verily? Dost thou not calleth him friend?" Palamedes asked.

Lamorak was quiet. "He doesn't know he can trust me," he finally replied. "And… and I don't say he can because… because people like him don't make it in places like this."

"Thou wisheth not to become attached," Palamedes deduced, expression softening. "Just in case."

Lamorak nodded. "The day that you fought, so did he, and you made it to the final three," he sang. "Rounds," he clarified normally before returning to song. "He made it to the final five but for prying's sake he took a dive, for to watch the Saracen fight the best, as he knew he himself couldn't clear the rest."

"So skilled? Verily? Then why dost thou not believe he can survive here?" Palamedes said, impressed at this information.

"Because he doesn't use his skill. Unless he has to," Lamorak said. "But… but two weak links can become a strong one, when put together… He might be good for your brother, and your brother might be good for him. I feel they'd balance each other. Really well in fact."

"Then let us hasten to find this one before the morrow, for mine brother wilt last not another day like this," Palamedes said.

Lamorak nodded in agreement and led the way. "He's part of house Worcestershire. It would be my dorm house if my father wasn't faculty."

KAK

Palamedes recognized the boy the moment he saw him. He had been his matchup before Geraint. He'd been impressed with the other's skill. "Pelleas!" Lamorak called out.

The boy turned curiously and lit up. "Lamorak, hi! What's up? What do you want? Do you need anything? Whatever it is just ask and I'll do it," he said.

"I want you," Lamorak sang. Wait. "Not in like a weird way, but you know, like just wanting your help," he quickly covered in song.

"Uh, sure," Pelleas replied. "No problem." He looked over at Palamedes and lit up. "Hey, you're the guy who wiped the floor with Lancelot and Tristan! That was so awesome."

Palamedes smiled, but his smile fell. "We beg thee for thine help for the sake of mine brother," he said.

"Oh, the kid in Alchemy class who was spazzing out over safety?" Pelleas asked. Palamedes and Lamorak shifted. Maybe this wasn't a good idea… "I thought it was pretty cool. I had no idea there were so many dangerous things around! It was impressive the way he just hunted them all down." Palamedes and Lamorak looked hopeful again. "What do you need my help for regarding him?"

"He can't take it, can't take it, can't take it no more," Lamorak sang. Pelleas gave him a weird look and turned to Palamedes for further elaboration.

"He came back staggering, bruised, soaking, and in tears. He hastened unto his room and hath not exited it, nor stopped weeping within it, to this time," Palamedes said. "He wilt not speak of the ills that befell him, and I… I fear for him… Deeply. He hath no friend in all this place, and I was not there to help him. Nor will I be able to be on the morrow."

"Oh man, that's rough," Pelleas said, frowning in concern. "So, what do you want me to do?"

"Take him with you tomorrow to your classes?" Lamorak said. "Dad figured out enough to realize his schedule needed to be totally redone because his current one? Yeah, it isn't gonna work for him."

"Hey sure, no problem! I'll be there in the morning to hook up with him," Pelleas said. "I'll make sure tomorrow doesn't suck for the guy. Promise."

"Gramercy, Squire Pelleas. Though canst not possibly understand the favor thou hast done me. I pray one day I may repay it," Palamedes said.

"Hey, it isn't a problem. Lamorak's cashing in on a favor I owe _him_ , so I'll do this and we can call it even," Pelleas said.

"Art thou certain?" Palamedes asked.

"Sure! Just leave it to me. Your brother will be in good hands," Pelleas said. Lamorak, from behind, winced. He… wasn't totally convinced.

KAK

Sure enough, the next day Pelleas was there on the button. They'd talked Safir into trying it out once more before they'd send Segwarides, and the moment the door was opened, there was Pelleas. "Hi there! I'm Pelleas," he said with a grin at Safir, zoning in on him and offering his hand. "You're gonna be tagging along with me today. Our schedules line up."

"Huh?" Safir said, blinking. "H-how do you know that?"

"Because Pellinore scrapped yours and doesn't have another one ready yet, so I was recruited to bring you along," Pelleas replied.

"You were…?" Safir began.

"Let's go!" Pelleas said, grabbing his arm and pulling him along. "Cafeteria has a not horrible breakfast today."

"H-hey, let go!" Safir protested.

Pelleas did so. "Sorry," he said. "Just if we're not quick, we miss out and end up getting something we definitely don't want to get."

"Like?" Safir asked.

"Dysentery," Pelleas replied, grimacing. Safir started, freezing and blinking. An appalled look crossed his face and he quickly followed the other. There was no time to ask questions. They needed to get there before they were stuck with breakfast a la dysentery.

"So far so good," Lamorak said.

"I hope this was wise," Palamedes worriedly remarked.

KAK

The next thing Safir knew, he was sitting across the table from an animatedly chatting Pelleas and trying to figure out what had happened and how he'd gotten here. He took a tentative bite of the food and all but melted into it. "Told you it was good," Pelleas said, grinning.

"Wow, you weren't kidding. I thought this place only served slop," Safir replied.

"Usually it does, but the chef's a morning person and puts her best food forward then. By lunch she's over her head in stress and agitation, so she stops trying," Pelleas said.

"So… why you, specifically?" Safir asked. "You know, doing this? For me?"

"Oh. Because your family cares about you and big bro went to Lamorak for advice on how to help you. I owed Lamorak a favor, so he suggested talking to me about hanging out with you today." Safir began to look disheartened. "Also, I was curious about you after watching you in Alchemy class, and probably would have talked to you there anyway if I'd seen you. I mean, wow man. You've got it together," Pelleas said before Safir could start thinking the only reason someone was showing interest in him was because he was recruited to.

Safir started. "R-really? That's not what anyone else seems to think," he replied.

"I mean yeah, you're a bit overzealous, but at least it's over a good thing," Pelleas said. "You should be on the student safety committee."

"They have one?" Safir asked.

"Well, they did. Once. Fell apart under Pynchley from what I understand, but Pellinore and his hand-picked staff are trying to get it back up and running again," Pelleas replied. "So, how was yesterday for you?" Safir was quiet. "Ooh… That bad, huh? The place isn't that nightmarish all the time, just so you know," Pelleas said, tone softening a bit. "You learn who to avoid and how to avoid them, after a while."

"You shouldn't have to avoid your own schoolmates," Safir said.

"Yeah… Especially not when they're the guys that'll be fighting alongside you when you're a knight," Pelleas said. Safir picked quietly at his food. "Hey, today will be better. I guarantee it. This time you have some backup at least."

Safir looked curiously up, examining the boy sitting across from him warily. Pelleas smiled obliviously at him. Yikes this kid was a pushover. He didn't seem the sort that would… thrive here. "I guess," he finally decided to settle on saying. "So… you a friend of Lamorak's?"

Pelleas was quiet. Safir looked up curiously and noted Pelleas looking away, no more smile on his face. He looked a little… wistful. Feeling the eyes on him, Pelleas turned back and forced a smile again. "Maybe one day? I hope… Just, vagabonds and kings and all that."

"Huh?" Safir asked.

Pelleas shifted a little uncomfortably. "I'm… not of noble birth. I'm of a low birth. Really low. I, uh, I'm a peasant… kind of… Most students here are high or noble born, and just… Let's say I don't get talked to a whole lot…" Safir blinked, processing the remark. Pelleas awkwardly cleared his throat. "Anyway, we should finish eating. The bell's going to ring soon."

"Wait, hold on, you're ignored because you're…?" Safir asked.

"Poor. Dirt poor. It's a social thing. Let's just drop it," Pelleas muttered.

"That's not okay, Pelleas!" Safir said. "Is Lamorak like that?"

"No! No. You can't even always tell who's royalty and who isn't here they're so low-key about it. Worcestershire's generally… okay. About differences in social class. Just… the majority of nobility here let you _know_ they're nobility… Especially when you're like me…" Pelleas said.

"Okay, just-just stop with the 'like you' crap, okay? I'll let it go. For now," Safir said, frowning. The bell rang.

"Oh, we've gotta move. Come on, we're gonna need to run to make it," Pelleas said, standing and racing off. Safir followed, not being given time to hesitate or dawdle.

KAK

As luck would have it, Safir found himself once again in a class with Galihoden and was visibly shaken and uneasy about it. Which he knew was bad because Galihoden would probably feed on that weakness, but he couldn't help it! Galihoden, on spotting him, looked utterly ecstatic. "Hey, if it isn't my little buddy!" he greeted, sauntering right up. Safir didn't look at him. He gasped as Galihoden hit him up the back of the head. "Hey, Safir, talking to you here."

"There's a difference between talking and bullying," Safir replied, rubbing his head. He yelped as Galihoden slammed his head on his desk and pulled him back up before sitting in the chair of the desk right ahead of him and glaring at him.

"So, you and your brothers tight?" Galihoden asked. Safir was quiet. So word had spread of Segwarides' presence too then. "Must be nice. Having siblings at your back to protect you. Oh, wait, where are they exactly?"

"You're not in a safe position, Galihoden. That chair might slip and you'd get hurt," Safir said.

He sharply laughed. "I can't believe you. Are you serious right now? Safety's your concern more than my sudden interest in your brothers? What? Doesn't register that I might be working up to a threat?"

"Just go away," Safir said.

"What would you be willing to do to save your brothers, Safir?" Galihoden asked.

Galihoden suddenly yelped as water was spilled onto him by someone who'd stumbled. "Oh! Galihoden, I'm so sorry," a voice said. Safir looked quickly over. Pelleas! He let out a subtle sigh of relief. "Wow that's a mess. Might want to clean up before someone assumes you didn't make it to the latrine in time."

"You little punk bastard!" Galihoden freaked, seizing Pelleas and throwing him onto a desk.

"Hey, back off!" Safir snapped, shooting up and lunging, shoving Galihoden off Pelleas and staggering him. Galihoden started, totally taken aback. Safir pulled Pelleas up and the two faced Galihoden as one, eyes narrowed. "You know how you dared me to tattle? Well I dare you to try that again," Safir sneered. "If you think Palamedes is the only one of me and my brothers who can fight, you're sorely mistaken."

"Pelleas? Seriously? A Saracen prince buddying up with a peasant's son from the boonies? This is just pathetic," Galihoden said.

"Well it's stopping you from coming at us," Pelleas replied.

"I'll see you two at lunch. Count on it," Galihoden said with a sneer. Turning, he furiously marched out to dry himself off. Safir and Pelleas glared after him.

"Thanks," Safir soon said, looking at Pelleas.

"Oh, it was no problem man," Pelleas replied, smiling brightly at Safir. "I've got your back." Safir was quiet. "Something wrong?" he asked, frowning curiously.

"Just… not used to people besides my brothers and father having my back," Safir replied.

"Oh. It's okay. I don't even have _that_ ," Pelleas replied, smiling. "I guess the nice thing about siblings is that you always have someone at your back. Well, usually. It's tough when you're solo."

"Y-yeah," Safir replied, flushing a bit. He'd never actually thought of it like that. Put in those terms, he really wasn't as bad off as he would otherwise be if he didn't have Palamedes and Segwarides he guessed. He shifted a bit. "How have you made it so far?" he asked a bit quietly.

Pelleas thought about the question. "I stay out of the way," he finally answered, smiling a bit. "I'm eager to please, I get on the good side of enough people that I have some padding… I don't make enemies too easily, usually. Or try not to. I avoid problem cliques, like the jocks, and just, you know, stay on the sidelines. Don't attract attention. Live day to day. I mean, it's all you can do sometimes when things are tough."

"It must be rough not having people to fall back on," Safir said.

"It is. That's why you have _me_ now. And why you've always had your brothers," Pelleas replied, sitting at the desk in front of Safir, where Galihoden had been sitting.

"So you've just been going through the motions solo?" Safir asked.

"I mean, like I said I get on people's good sides. Bedivere, Gawain, and Tristan all like me in the jock circles, which is pretty good, and Alisander, aka Alexander, is okay with me too, and Lamorak, but generally? Yeah. So… I'm kind of glad to have someone around now. Even if you don't decide to stay, at least I get to experience it for a little while," Pelleas replied. Safir was quiet, words totally gone from him. Pelleas smiled again and turned to the front of the classroom as the class started. Safir could barely pay attention, Pelleas's words turning around in his head.

KAK

There were tormentors in the next class, but Pelleas planted himself like right at his side so he didn't have to face them alone. It was surprisingly bearable with Pelleas's added presence. Lunchtime, though? Yeah, things weren't looking good. Pelleas and Safir stood surrounded by Lancelot's clique, or most of it, looking scared. And for good reason. Galihoden had told them Safir and Pelleas had grown backbones. Backbones weren't good for them, so now they had to break them. They were intent to do it too. "H-hi Lance," Pelleas said. "Long time no see."

"You're getting cocky," Lancelot said. "Thought you knew your place, Pelleas."

"Well I couldn't stand by while Galihoden was being a jerk to Safir," Pelleas said. "I'm really sorry, man, but I'm not gonna stand by when I can help people. I mean, would you? Off school grounds?"

"Nice excuse. Not gonna fly. Get 'em," Lancelot said.

"Palamedes!" Safir cried out suddenly. They spun quickly. Safir seized Pelleas and booked it while they the jocks were distracted, but the jousting team was quick to recover.

"Hey they're running!" Brandelis said.

"Get 'em!" Bleoberis stated. They immediately raced after the two, chasing them down like a pack of wolves after a couple deer!

"Oh this isn't safe, this isn't safe, this isn't safe," Safir said as they booked it through the school, darting in and out of classrooms and leaping over very dangerous looking objects and gaps in an attempt to get away.

"I know, but what has to be done," Pelleas replied, smiling. "Don't worry. We've got this! They ran around a corner and slid to a stop, gasping. A wall straight up with little more than cords hanging off.

"Oh shi…" Safir began. They heard the pursuers approaching. "What do we do?!"

"This," Pelleas replied, running to the cords hanging down and seizing one. He tugged it a couple times, testing its durability, then began to climb.

"Whoa! Whoa, whoa no! Are you crazy?! Pelleas, get down from there right this instant before you break your neck! That is _so_ far from safe I can't even describe it," Safir protested.

"We'll have a lot more than our necks broken if the jocks catch up. How safe will _they_ be for us?" Pelleas challenged, continuing up but pausing to make sure Safir followed. If he didn't he'd go back down and help him fight off the jousters, of course, but they'd probably be razed down to the ground.

"Oh this is bad this is so bad," Safir said, his OCD over safety just going totally haywire like it was breaking his brain to be doing so many things this horribly wrong!

"Safir, hurry!" Pelleas prompted. "We won't stand a chance against Lance and his cronies."

"Oh, oh, oh, oh," Safir moaned. The jocks appeared.

"There!" Sagremore shouted, pointing. Safir yelped and ran for the wall, grabbing the cord and immediately starting to climb it, hauling it up with him so the jousters couldn't use them too.

"Alright, you did it! Look at you go," Pelleas cheered, grinning widely. He began climbing when Safir was at his level, and they moved as quickly as they could up the wall. Safir yelped, losing his footing and almost falling. Pelleas, though, moved fast, catching his hand and holding fast. Safir, heart pounding and head screaming at him in protest, looked up with a gasp and saw the other's reassuring and calm smile. It helped calm him in turn. He swallowed, nodded a thanks, then reoriented and began to climb up again, a bit slower this time but still quickly. Soon they reached the top of the wall and looked down at the infuriated jocks yelling at them, and Lancelot barking orders to get up there and hunt them down.

KAK

The jocks raced away to find a way up and Safir let out a shaking breath, collapsing against the wall and sinking down by it. Pelleas joined him on the ground. "I can't believe I just did that," Safir finally said.

"I know! It was great," Pelleas said.

"It was dangerous and reckless!" Safir replied.

"Not half as dangerous as taking all them on at once might have been," Pelleas replied. "Hey, you did great. We made it, we've got some breathing room, just take it in. Not often victims escape them."

Safir was quiet. "It… kind of _was_ fun, wasn't it?" he said, smirking slightly. "I mean, not the climbing and risking our necks part, but the escaping them part.

"That's the spirit," Pelleas said, grinning.

"Well, now what? We're targets. If they catch us solo, what are we supposed to do? I mean, it would be nice if we could attach ourselves to some rival group or something just to stay out of their way for a while," Safir said.

"Well… I mean there's… No, that might not be best," Pelleas said.

"What?" Safir prompted.

"I mean, Lancelot has this favorite target, see? His name's Arthur Pendragon and I mean, the guy lays it on Arthur worse than Galihoden lays it on you. Arthur was for the longest time like, pretty solo in it all. Recently he's kind of started hanging out with a few other guys, though. A good few. And gotten an in with Gawain, which is a huge step because Gawain and Lance are tight and Gawain has a lot of sway with Lancelot. So much that if we even managed to run into him alone and tell him about what's happening, he might be able to solo talk them into leaving us be. Or Lance at least, and the others follow Lance pretty devoutly. But I don't think he's here today, so our best bet might be finding Arthur and his growing group and plead asylum. I mean they're all victimized by the jocks too, but there are enough of them now that the jousting team tends to leave them alone when they spot them all together," Pelleas said.

"That sounds risky," Safir said, frowning. "Like, I don't know, a faction war? Kind of? And those are _decidedly_ unsafe."

"Its that or let them catch us and just get the beating over with," Pelleas replied, shrugging. "No guarantees we won't end up in the infirmary."

Safir was quiet. "You know where this Arthur and his friends usually meet up?" he finally asked.

"Not exactly. They don't really have a _set_ place. They shouldn't be too hard to find, though. If the pattern holds, they like going off-campus for lunch. Sometimes to the river, sometimes to the ancient ruins. Other times they can be found in the courtyard. Probably the best bet to start there then work outwards," Pelleas said.

"Can we make it?" Safir asked.

"We can hope," Pelleas replied, standing up and offering his hand. Safir took it and Pelleas pulled him to his feet.

"Let's go then," Safir said. "Lance and his guys are probably heading up as we speak."

KAK

Sure enough, no sooner had they gotten off the wall when they ran into the jocks and were forced to flee. They darted through the schoolyard, looking frantically for Arthur and go. Thus far nothing. They weren't in the courtyard, which meant they had to flee off school property and into the ruins where, if they couldn't find Arthur and co, they could at least find places to hide. Lancelot and the jocks were running them down fast. Pure adrenaline kept them barrelling on in fear. They reached the ruins ahead of the jocks, but the jocks were right on their heels. "Help! Help us!" Pelleas shouted out frantically, hoping to hear voices. "Your majesty! Arthur!"

"Wait what?!" Safir demanded.

"Oh yeah, Arthur's high-king," Pelleas said.

"You realise my nation is probably heading towards war with his, right?!" Safir freaked.

"Don't worry. I think he's cool," Pelleas said.

"Think?!" Safir demanded.

"King Arthur! Arthur, help!" Pelleas shouted, avoiding the question.

"Pelleas!" Safir furiously shouted. He gasped, sliding to a stop, as suddenly someone appeared in front of them.

"Degore! Hi!" Pelleas said. "How you been doing since that close brush with death? You know, the poison thing?"

Degore was quiet, summing them dubiously up. "Why are you looking for Arthur?" he asked.

"Because the psycho jousting team is looking to beat us to a pulp and, well, I figured his group had grown enough that maybe we could, uh, seek asylum? For a bit?" Pelleas replied.

Degore was quiet. They heard the jousting team shout out. "There he is!" Brunor le Noir, Degore recognized.

Degore looked over, spotting them coming into sight, and pursed his lips. "Come on," he said, turning and racing away. Pelleas and Safir followed quickly and all at once they found themselves in front of a more-than-a-little stunned Arthur, who stared at them like they were out of their minds when they pled their case.

"Are you kidding me? You _led_ them here?!" Arthur demanded. "Are you crazy?! They'll slaughter all of us!"

"There's only six of them," Degore said.

"So?!" Arthur demanded.

"Look around at your numbers, sir," Degore flatly replied.

Arthur blinked and looked back. He started. Whoa… Balin, Balan, Alymere, Dagonet, Degore, Lucan, Bedivere, Kay, Griflet, him… Now Pelleas and Safir too. He… hadn't honestly realized how big this little group had gotten until right then. He turned, looking back at Pelleas and Safir who seemed desperate. "Okay," he finally relented. "Get in the back."

"Thank you. Thank you so much," Safir said quickly, scrambling into the group with Pelleas. Only second later, the jousting team came and slid to a stunned stop, blinking in shock at the force in front of them.

Arthur grimaced. "Oh great. What do _you_ want?" he asked Lancelot.

Lancelot glared. "Hand over Pelleas and Safir, loser. We'll give you a turn later. Right now I want them," he said.

"Yeah, not happening," Arthur replied. "They came here looking for our protection, so they're gonna get it. Now get lost Lancelot. Don't you have other victims to beat up?"

"You among them," Lancelot stated with a sneer. "Hand. Over. Pelleas and Safir."

"Bite. Me," Arthur replied, eyes narrowing.

"Boys!" Lancelot ordered. The other jousters drew their weapons.

"Are you kidding?" Lucan flatly said. "Are you so utterly incompetent you can't register when you're undoubtedly outnumbered and outdone? The force at your back could hardly hope to stand to the force of us. The sheer number here, plus the skill that accumulates among them, trounces what paltry means you have with you."

"Translation? You were beat before you started, Lancelot," Bedivere said. "Any other time me and Kay would probably be right there with you, but in case your eyes are failing you, my little brother and cousin are among the group you're threatening right now."

"And my foster brother is heading them," Kay backed. "Yeah. We're not with you this round."

"And it doesn't look like you have Tristan or Gawain to boast up, so your ultimate threat right about now? Eh," Alymere said, smirking and shrugging.

"Totally man," Balin said.

"Yeah! These dudes want sanctuary, they definitely got it," Balan added, slinging his arms around Pelleas and Safir, who raised their eyebrows at him and exchanged looks before turning back to the jousters, eyes narrowed.

There was silence. The way the jousting team was shifting, though? They had them on the ropes and all party knew it. Wow that felt good. "We get them now or we get them later. You can't protect them from us forever, Arthur," Lancelot finally threatened.

"Guess we'll be seeing you later then," Arthur replied. "Buh bye." They didn't move. Arthur's eyes narrowed. "Maybe I wasn't clear. Go away. I order it."

"You punk ass little…" Lancelot began, scowling darkly. Kay drew his sword, moving in front of Arthur with Bedivere, to Arthur's surprise. He wondered if he'd ever get used to that. People stepping in the way to defend him? It… wasn't something he'd ever experienced before… He wasn't entirely convinced he liked it.

"Easy guys. I've got this," Arthur said.

"And we've got you, so all bases are covered," Bedivere said.

"You traitors!" Brunor said. Bedivere and Kay shifted, but kept quiet.

"Leave them alone!" Arthur defended. "Every other time they follow you like anyone else, so don't start calling them traitors because this time they happened to choose me. Family is involved, you dipsticks, that's why they're on my side and not yours this time."

"No, no, this-this is totally my call," Bedivere said flatly. "Griflet and Lucan be damned, it's still my choice standing here like this against them. So yeah. Call me traitor. Never been so proud to be one either."

"He doesn't speak for us both," Kay flatly said.

Arthur blinked and frowned at Kay. "Really?" he asked.

"Sorry baby brother, but they're more my style," Kay replied. If you weren't here, I'd be all for hunting down the Saracen intruder and his little buddy."

"We're not intruding!" Safir defended. "Our father had no ill-will coming here. He just wanted me and my brothers to be safe!"

"And now you are," Arthur said, looking over at Safir. "At least for today." Safir was quiet, staring at Arthur. Soon he looked away, seeming uncertain as to what to think about this. Arthur turned back to Lancelot. "Go away," Arthur repeated again. "We're walking back to school right now, they're coming with us, and you aren't touching them." Lancelot scowled darkly. Finally he tossed his head, silently commanding the others to leave. Grumbling, obviously unimpressed, they turned and did so, leaving them alone. Arthur and co waited until they were gone before turning back. "I'm a dead man," Arthur said with a groan. The minute Lancelot found him alone, and he would, he was going to suffer _so_ bad. There was no guarantee he'd always be around enough people to outnumber the jousting team. Or with people at all.

"For now you are, though. That's what matters," Griflet said.

Arthur nodded and turned attention to Pelleas and Safir. "You two okay?" he asked.

"Now we are, at least," Pelleas replied. "Thanks. I-I wasn't sure we'd even find you. Or that if we did you'd, you know, bother to help us… Not a lot of people here do."

"Tell me about it," Dagonet said, grimacing. He'd been lucky to get in with Alymere, but after Astomar disowned the jousting team during the whole Dinadan and Lancelot incident, things had gotten a lot rougher for the both of them and yeah, there wasn't always a place to hide or go where you'd be, you know, safe.

"It was no problem," Arthur said. "I mean, not sure I would have done it if we hadn't outnumbered them, so just… yeah."

"Sure you would have. You're that kind of person, dude," Balin said, smirking.

"Your one request for me when I went after Pellinore for what he did to Miles, was to come back to you alive by whatever means possible," Griflet said. "You weren't even all that close to me and it was still all that you asked… I'm never gonna forget that for as long as I live, ever, so I agree totally with Balin. You're just that kind of person, Artie." Arthur was quiet. He was touched, but he wasn't sure he _felt_ like he was that type of person. He hoped he was, yeah, but still.

"We should get back. The bell's going to toll soon," Lucan said, reading the sky for the time. They nodded, and all returned together. When Safir returned to his father and brothers that night, they were stunned when he stated he wanted to stay. Really, _really_ wanted to stay.


	10. Segwarides

Segwarides

(A/N: Will be posting two chapters today because they kind of run hand-in-hand. And because this one's pretty short. Enjoy.)

Segwarides took a breath and stepped out of Pellinore's quarters and into the school grounds. He looked cautiously around. Birds were singing, the sun shone through the trees, the wind softly blew, warm and comforting... He shifted. He wished it comforted him, but seeing the state Safir had come home in after his first day had him really on edge. But he'd listened in awe and wonder to the story Safir had told he and Palamedes about how and why he'd changed his mind about staying, and now his curiosity was peaked. He… kind of hoped to meet this 'King Arthur'. He'd asked Safir how he could make contact with him when they'd been getting ready for bed. Safir had seemed curious, then intrigued. He'd just smirked and told him that he wouldn't find him. He told him King Arthur didn't stand out, that he wasn't flashy or showy or really anything special at all. You couldn't pick his face out of a small crowd, and in fact he'd probably be the last one you expected him to be. Even if you sought as hard as you could, he'd just be a guy to your eyes. Just some average kid.

 _"_ _Until he needs to be more… Then you'll see and know beyond doubt, brother, who Arthur is."_

That's how Safir had finished his statement, and now Segwarides was just that much more interested in trying to find him.

He didn't go into this as boldly as Palamedes. Nor did he go in as tightly as Safir. He tried to keep to a happy medium, just this casual new student. Stay under the radar, be shy not brash or controlling, stick with the basics, hang out with his brothers when he could find them, don't paint a target on his back. When questioned by students, he answered with only the bare minimum, telling them only exactly what was asked. He didn't give others a reason to establish dominance, he stayed in his place. Calm, cool, casual… He made it through the morning without incident. Lunch came and he hunted around for a club that might be meeting together. That was always a good thing to do. Join yourself to a clique, even if it was a bullied one. You got a bit of protection that way, and the chance to make some friends. He found one called Table-Top Strategizers. That seemed like something up his ally. He honestly really liked table-top strategy games. He got teased for it a lot, like a _lot_ , but hey, whatever. Maybe there he'd find some like-minded people. He checked where they were meeting. The strategy room. Of course. Probably for atmosphere, he figured. He went off to see what this 'Table-Top Strategizers' thing was all about.

He reached the room and peered inside. Sitting there were four boys, two who were your typical stereotyped nerdy guys, one who decidedly wasn't, and one who was kind of in between. They all looked up as he entered. "Ah finally! A newcomer. We've been hoping the forces that be would send to us a fifth member to join our sad, small little party," one said. A guy that had some serious metal in the mouth.

"This quest is really challenging," another, overweight and tending a bleeding nose, said.

"Hey wait, you're that Saracen's brother!" the one who definitely did not look like a nerd said. "The one who beat my brother."

"Uh…?" Segwarides began.

"He's t-talking ab-about Lancelot," the in-between nerd said, setting up the board.

"Oh. Yes. I suppose," Segwarides said, shifting. Wow, had _everyone_ heard of Palamedes' feat?

"D-Don't worry. It's st-still lowkey," the one setting up the board said with a smile, looking up at him.

"Lancelot doesn't want it bragged up. These guys know because I do," the decidedly-not-your-average-nerd said. "Anyway, my name is Hector de Maris. I'm Lancelot's half-brother. These other guys are Hoel, Xavier Ironside, and Gures the Younger, aka Guyart."

"I call myself Gary," Gures flatly said, frowning at Hector. Easier to say than Gures or Guyart.

"T-to G-Gareth's chagrin and embarrassment," Hoel, the one who'd been setting up the board, said, smirking.

"Gareth can jump off a bridge," Xavier said.

"It is good to meet you," Segwarides replied. He looked over at the overweight one. "Is Ironside your game title?" he asked.

"No. It's legit his title," Guyart said.

Xavier nodded. "Only my friends call me that, though," he stated. "To everyone else it's Xavier. Or bleeding pig…"

"Is Lancelot still doing that? I told him to stop," Hector said, frowning.

"He stopped, but no one else did," Xavier replied, bowing his head.

"Why would you be called that?" Segwarides, visibly appalled, asked.

"Because he can't laugh without snorting and getting a bleeding nose," Gary, said. "He says it's a medical condition."

"That w-would p-probably get better if-if you ever g-got away from being v-victimized. St-stress d-does things t-to people," Hoel said.

"You're confusing his condition with your stammer," Gures said. Hoel winced. Guyart grimaced. "Sorry," he said.

Hoel looked over at Segwarides. "S-so, w-why are you here?"

"I… was curious. I like Table-Top Strategy," Segwarides replied. "I am very good at it, in fact."

"Really? Th-then p-pull up a s-seat. W-we'll test you out," Hoel said, smiling.

"If he actually really _wants_ to hang out with us. Not like we're popular or anything. He sure looks like he could get popular pretty easy," Gures said, folding his arms and rolling his eyes. He was a bit more gangly and wiry than his brothers, sure, but it didn't take a whole lot away from his looks.

"You let _me_ in, didn't you? Give him a shot," Hector said.

"Fine," Gary said with a sigh.

Segwarides approached and took a seat between Hoel and Xavier. He looked over at Xavier in a measure of concern. He bled a lot, he noted. And seemed very insecure and low on self-esteem. "You should not be bleeding so much," Segwarides said in concern.

"It's a condition," Xavier replied.

"This is not a little condition," Segwarides said. "Do you often bleed badly? Even when cut? There is… a disease I know of where even a cut can be deadly to a person because their blood does not clot like it should. Just keeps flowing. A bleed such as this can be a sign of it."

Xavier glanced at him. "I… Maybe? It might be a moderate form I guess?" he answered.

Segwarides looked like he wanted to push, but Guyart cut in, saying, "Enough about him. Let's just get this going. We're really stuck. A fifth player should help speed things up." Segwarides nodded in agreement and set about making his character.

KAK

It was apparent within three minutes that Segwarides was exceedingly good at this. He knew strategy really, really well. Like the back of his hand. He was literally what was getting them through this with his plans and battle layouts. They couldn't believe it. This guy had been seriously trained for like, real genuine battle. Well, they all had been really, but he was like hardcore trained. "Wow. Is this just a trait of yours, or is it a cultural thing?" Hector asked.

"Cultural," Segwarides answered. "It is emphasized, at least under my father's rule, very much. I just took to it."

"N-no k-kidding," Hoel said. "I'm d-delivering the k-killing blow now."

"Yes! Finally! Victory!" Gary cheered, throwing his hands in the air. "It's exhilarating, isn't it?"

"Have you tried it in a real situation?" Segwarides asked.

"I think that would be more scary than exhilarating," Xavier Ironside replied, frowning nervously.

"At first maybe," Segwarides answered.

"Do we look like the kind of people who would stand a chance in a fight?" Gures asked in vague annoyance.

"Do I?" Segwarides challenged back.

"More than we do," Gures replied, gesturing to himself, Xavier, and Hoel.

"But ultimately no. No, you don't," Hector said, smirking. " _I_ however…"

"N-no crap. You're L-Lancelot's br-brother," Hoel said, frowning. "N-no relative of L-Lancelot's c-could look like anything _but_ a w-warrior."

"Well, Bohort's kind of turned a leaf," Hector said. "And Lionel's not exactly large."

"Or y-you. But th-that's an age th-thing, not a build thing. I mean, with ex-exception to B-Bohort. Looked b-bigger before he lost the b-baby fat, b-but hey, he looks a bit m-more his age now. And honestly, I th-think wi-without that b-baby fat holding him b-back, he's w-way _more_ c-capable than he was," Hoel said.

"So, is this the only place you play?" Segwarides asked.

"No. We play outside too sometimes, but then we have to be careful the Jousting Team doesn't decide to pick on us," Xavier said.

"This your first day?" Gary asked.

"Yes… My brothers have been here for a few, but this is my first," Segwarides said. "Palamedes got through his first day alright, but Safir's first day was horrible. He came home in tears. He would not tell us why. Maybe he was caught by your jousting team. His second day was better. It changed his mind about wanting to leave, in fact. We were surprised."

"Whoa. W-what ch-changed so much?" Hoel questioned.

"He had someone with him. A boy named Pelleas," Safir said.

"Oh yeah, we know him. Nice kid," Gures said. "A miracle he's lasted as long as he has."

"The jousting team went after them that day too, but they managed to escape by finding solace with another group," Segwarides said.

"What group?" Hector asked.

Segwarides paused. He looked up. "King Arthur's," he said. Hoel started, eyes widening in shock. "They found him and those who were with him and begged their protection. They outnumbered the jousting team, and even though they are regular victims of them, Safir said, together they were strong and the jousting team would not risk attacking them. Arthur held his ground and all those with him." It had gotten very quiet. Eyes were on Hoel, who's head was bowed, a solemn look in his eyes. Segwarides frowned curiously and looked at Hoel. "What is it?" he asked. "Did I say something bad?"

"N-No… I-it's j-just… p-personal s-stuff," Hoel answered, stammer markedly worse.

"Personal?" Segwarides asked.

Hoel shifted and looked up. "A-Arthur's... A-Arthur's m-my m-maternal c-cousin," he said. Segwarides started, eyes bulging wide. "W-we… used to be tight. Wh-when w-we were littler. Time k-kind of… drove us apart. We h-haven't been close for a wh-while. P-probably n-never will now that he has a k-kingdom to run and I'm, well, st-still st-stuck here. Just… It c-can be hard. Sometimes. Well, f-for me. N-not sure if he even r-really re-remembers me all that w-well. Or c-cares much."

Segwarides was quiet. "I would like to meet him," he soon said. "To thank him for protecting my brother." Hoel was quiet. "Please? Maybe it will even start to reconcile you two."

After a moment he sighed, massaging his temples. "Okay," he finally relented. "Just… n-not now. Lunch is-is almost over. W-we should g-get some fresh air."

"Why?" Xavier asked.

"Because it's good for us?" Hector replied for Hoel like it was obvious. "Well, for you guys. I'm pretty well off as it is."

"Up yours," Gures said.

"C-come on. L-let's go," Hoel prompted, smiling. With groans, Xavier and Gary rose to follow Hoel and Segwarides out. Hector would come last. He always did. Lancelot didn't want him to be seen with the nerds. Everyone thought it was because Lancelot was trying to protect himself and his cred, but Hector knew different. It was because Lancelot was trying to protect _him_. He'd promised Lancelot that if he could keep hanging out with them at least a couple times a week, he'd make sure he was never seen with them in public. They'd been really hurt, and he'd felt horrible doing it to them, but eventually they'd gotten used to it, all of them.

KAK

Segwarides didn't ask why Hector didn't come. He could guess why, given the guy's relationship to Lancelot. "So anyway, the next club meeting will be tomorrow at the same time. Next scenario? The Dungeons of Dark Despair." Gures said. "It'll be so great!"

"I wanna have first dibs Gary," Xavier said.

"Whatever Ironside," Gures replied, rolling his eyes at Xavier.

"I th-think the n-new guy should get f-first pick," Hoel said. "We n-never got your name."

"Segwarides," Segwarides said.

"So awesome," Hoel, Xavier, and Gures said together. Segwarides perked up a bit, smiling. Not many people thought that, so he was pleased at least some did.

"So f-far how's your f-first day b-been?" Hoel asked.

"I did not make the mistakes my brothers made, so there is that. It is so far so good," Segwarides replied.

"Uh oh. It's about to get not so good really, really fast," Gures said, frowning ahead at something.

"Oh no. We were so close. Maybe we can go back in and wait it out?" Xavier said.

"Too late. We're fish bait," Gures dismally said, looking forlorn. Segwarides looked ahead. He'd go out on a limb and say this was the jousting team. He tensed up a bit, ready for anything.

"Well, well, what have we here? Looks like the third's come out to play," Lancelot said. "Pretty pathetic looking compared to your brothers. 'Course the only one of you who _didn't_ look utterly pathetic was Palamedes. Got all the good genes it seems. Safir got the leftovers. Looks like you got the scraps." Segwarides stayed quiet, head bowed. "Oh, and look at this. You're part of the nerd squad. Daddy's disappointment?" Still silence. Lancelot frowned. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" he shot, hitting Segwarides up the side of the head.

"He's ab-above your st-station, L-Lancelot. B-back off," Hoel defended immediately. He knew he'd regret it, of course, but he wasn't standing by and letting this creep slap around their new pal!

Lancelot glared darkly at Hoel. "Uh, we'll just be going now. I mean, me and Ironside will be," Gures said, backing away with Xavier.

"Spineless twerps. Letting your buddies catch the brunt while you run away?" Bedivere bit at them, glaring coldly.

"We are _all_ walking away from you," Segwarides said, frowning at Lancelot. He turned his back and took Hoel's arm, pulling him away from the jocks. He gasped as he was seized and yanked back, spun around to face them. A fist was raised high above the head of the largest one, ready to bring down on command. He stiffened up and blinked. "If it is me you want to punish, do it. They do not have to suffer too," Segwarides said, gesturing back at the others who were being surrounded and appeared highly uneasy and afraid.

Lancelot glared. "Let Ironside and Gures go," he ordered.

"Actually, it's…" Gures began. Lancelot sneered at him and he shut instantly up.

"And Hoel," Segwarides said.

"Nah. Hoel opened his trap too much. He's staying right here," Lancelot said. "Got a beef with his cousin anyway."

"A-Arthur w-won't c-care wh-what happens t-to me. You're w-wasting your energy," Hoel said.

"Fine. If he doesn't care, we get to play with you longer," Lancelot said. Neither Xavier or Gary moved to leave. "Get. Lost," Lancelot threatened.

"I-it's o-okay g-guys," Hoel said to them.

They shifted and exchanged uneasy looks before frowning and turning back. "No," Gures said. "We're not going."

"Let our friends go!" Ironside insisted.

"Hah, fat chance! If you won't run, fine. All of you _and_ your new buddy? You're all dead," Lancelot said. "Couldn't get back at Palamedes personally, couldn't get back at him through Safir, but this one looks ripe for the picking." Segwarides swallowed nervously.

"Lancelot!" Hector's voice called out, freezing Lancelot in place, his eyes widening. "Hey Lance, you promised you'd show me a few tricks today, remember?" Hector said, approaching and glancing over at the others. He subtly sent a wink their way and they sagged in relief.

Lancelot's eye twitched and he scowled at Hector warningly. Hector just smiled back innocently, though his gaze was hard and defiant. There was a tense moment. "Yeah. Guess I did," Lancelot finally relented, grimacing.

"Are you serious?!" Galihoden demanded.

"We'll get them later," Lancelot said, turning and walking away with Hector. The rest of the jousting team exchanged looks before parting ways, not sure what to do. Except Galihoden and Brandelis. Galihoden cast a dark look at the four nerds. "We're not finished with you," he darkly threatened, pointing at Segwarides specifically.

"Good luck," Segwarides replied, turning and walking away with the other three.

KAK

Galihoden watched them go silently. Brandelis stayed quiet, expression dark. Of course, he had been that way all day. "This is so pathetic," Brandelis said. "Lance and Tristan couldn't beat one guy and Lamorak had to take him out, then you couldn't put a finger on Pelleas or Safir because they ran to Artie and co who drove us off, _us_ , and now this."

"So let's deal with it. Apparently Lancelot is too busy to do any spearheading, so by process of elimination I guess it's up to us," Galihoden said. He looked at Brandelis. "You've been holding in whatever emotions you're dealing with all day. Here's your chance to take them all out on someone. I can't be directly involved in carrying this out, pushed my luck enough this week as it is, but I can _pay_ someone to do it."

"To do what?" Bran de Lis asked.

"Carry out revenge. On Palamedes and Safir, on Arthur and his friends…" Galihoden replied, smirking. "Beat and humiliate them."

"How?" Brandelis asked.

"I'll leave it in your capable hands," Galihoden said. "Be as creative as you want." Turning, he left, and Brandelis held his chin between his fingers, considering the matter. It _would_ feel good to take out his pent-up emotion on someone… He couldn't handle it alone though. However, he knew a guy that he could pay to play a part…

KAK

"I'm flattered you came to me," Agravaine said, smirking in amusement at Bran. "What do you want?"

"Help with catching them, help with subduing them, help with getting them prepped for the big assembly coming up," Brandelis answered.

"We talking another hang Artie from the basketball net thing?" Agravaine said.

"Yeah. But a little more extreme. We don't have to bother with Xavier Ironside or Guyart, just Segwarides and Hoel," Brandelis said. "This is a hit against Arthur and against the Saracen princes."

"And your devious mind is up to no good?" Agravaine said.

" _You're_ devious, Agravaine. I'm… creative," Brandelis said. "And I'm dealing with some really, really major issues right now that feel like they're smothering me from inside, and I'd love to take them out on a punching bag or two."

"Say no more. Pay's good so I'm in," Agravaine said.

"Good. Then let's do this and get it over with," Brandelis said.


	11. Humiliation

Humiliation

(A/N: **Second up today**. If bullying triggers you, be warned.)

Agravaine stared numbly down, pale. It went too far. He could see it had gone too far. Everyone could see! Even Brandelis could see. The horrified gasps and screams, then the alarmed murmuring, then… then the anguished cries…

 _Subduing them had been as easy as catching them alone where no other people were. They came up from behind, him and Brandelis, and they knocked the two out. They'd dragged Segwarides and Hoel off into the alcoves above the assembly hall. They'd stripped them to their loincloths and bound them to chairs. The two had woken up and there was panic. When they realized who it was who'd done this to them, there was defiance._

 _"_ _Hey Hoel, remember when we hung Artie from the net during that assembly where the ogre came and took him away? Yeah. That's gonna be you soon," Brandelis had sneered. "You and your little Arabic buddy both. Revenge is a bitch, huh? Especially when you're the price for someone else's stupidity. Hey, you can thank Arthur for this. And Segwarides can thank his moron brothers for it too."_

 _"_ _You are going to pay!" Segwarides said, spitting out the last word._

 _"_ _I'm counting on it," Brandelis replied. Segwarides jerked against his bonds, but it was pointless and all he got for his trouble was a punch across the face._

 _"_ _I call Hoel," Agravaine said. "Blood and all that."_

 _"_ _Sc-Screw you Agravaine!" Hoel shouted. He'd been rewarded with a beat down for that._

 _"_ _Stop! Stop it! You are going to kill him!" Segwarides had freaked out._

 _"_ _Oh please, you think we don't know how to avoid murder?" Brandelis replied._

 _Sure enough, Agravaine stopped. When Hoel's eyes were both black, his lips were swollen and bloodied, a deep gash was carved into his nose, and three gashes were on his cheek. "Nothing personal cuz, err second cuz, but money's too good to pass up."_

 _"_ _B-bastard!" Hoel spat out. "Oh wait. Th-that w-would be your **fr-freak** of a little b-brother Mordred!" Agravaine all but leapt on top of him, totally unleashing. Segwarides, though, had managed to throw himself against Agravaine, knocking him off Hoel before he really __**did**_ _beat him unconscious. Brandelis had pulled Segwarides off him and given him a real good work-over. Split lip, gash across the forehead, gash down the side of his face, bruises covering it. It wasn't pretty. Neither of them were very pretty when they finished with them…_

But Agravaine began to feel regret…

 _"_ _You want to what? No! We need to leave it at this," he said to Bran de Lis, watching his second cousin subtly and a bit guiltily._

 _"_ _You're being paid to help me humiliate them. The beatings they brought on themselves," Brandelis replied. "Thought you'd consider it a bonus."_

 _"_ _I know we agreed to hang them from the nets, but we're pushing our luck as it is. Segwarides's brothers see him like this, we're in for more than we bargained for," Agravaine replied. "If nothing else we should at least dangle them clothed instead of, you know, next to naked?" It might as well be fully naked when they were hanging upside down, he wryly noted to himself. Why did this idea even cross Brandelis's mind, again?_

 _Brandelis seemed to seriously consider Agravaine's words. He too saw they were maybe going too far now… "My father will have your heads," Segwarides all but confirmed. "Let Hoel go, and I will make their retribution less painful for you than it will already be."_

 _"_ _I'm n-not g-going anywhere," Hoel said, glaring darkly at their captors._

 _Segwarides was quiet. "But then you will suffer too," he replied._

 _"_ _Y-yeah. I-I know. B-but hey, w-worth the rush," Hoel said, smirking at Segwarides. Segwarides started then smirked back, amused. Rolling his eyes, Brandelis went directly to Segwarides and punched him in the stomach, eliciting a cry of pain from him. "Hey! Hey, leave him alone!" Hoel immediately protested._

 _"_ _That was a message from Lancelot for Palamedes," Brandelis said, ignoring him. "And this?" He punched him in the chest. Segwarides made a loud and anguished sound that wasn't quite a scream but wasn't not a scream either. "That's a message from Galihoden for Safir."_

 _"_ _Man whore!" Segwarides shouted in fury. Brandelis stiffened, then just like that he was on top of Segwarides, unleashing on him. It had taken Agravaine's all to drag him off the Saracen prince before he ended up getting them both executed for murder. Segwarides was left barely conscious by the beating, and Brandelis's body… It was shuddering… Agravaine didn't have long to think about why that was, though._

 _"_ _We need to get them ready to drop in on the assembly," Agravaine said in an attempt to pacify Brandelis, who still quivered in his arms._

 _"_ _Leave. The Saracen. To me," he darkly and dangerously said, voice shaking with rage._

 _"_ _Not when you're in this state," Agravaine replied._

Brandelis had managed to calm down enough for Agravaine to feel comfortable with allowing it, eventually. His mistake. Hoel and Segwarides had been separated, each at one end of the court, and their ankles bound by the ropes that would suspend them. Agravaine had tried to talk Brandelis into backing down or clothing them again. Brandelis had refused and made it worse, subtracting loincloths from the equation altogether. Agraviane had tried to protest, but when Bran had almost turned on _him_ , he backed down, totally thrown as to Brandelis's behavior and how to take it. The guy wasn't usually this... sadistic. Like ever. It was kind of worrying him and freaking him out. He really, really, _really_ wished he hadn't backed away from trying to talk the guy down now, though…

KAK

The first anguished cry came from one of the Saracen's brothers. "Segwarides!" Safir cried out in grief, all but throwing himself off the bleachers and charging towards his hanging, humiliated, and beaten brother.

"Nay!" Palamedes echoed in grief and horror, shoving his way down the bleachers and practically stepping on anyone in the way before leaping down and racing to his bleeding and unclothed sibling, who dangled upside down openly exposed to everyone. Safir cut the rope deftly. Palamedes caught their brother in his arms and lowered him quickly to the ground before covering him with a cape he often wore, tears spilling from his eyes. Safir gave another anguished cry and sobbed, falling next to their humiliated brother and clinging to his hand tightly and reassuringly. Segwarides clung back whimpering, burying himself in them in shame, desperate to just disappear into nothingness.

"Oh my gods!" Arthur suddenly managed to blurt from the bleachers, leaping up and racing down them. "Hoel! Hoel!"

Hoel's eyes flickered painfully open, little more than slits right now. It took him a minute to process who it was. "H-hey c-cuz," he weakly answered on realizing, giving a pained little smile to try and somehow maybe reassure Arthur he was okay. He wasn't, but he hated to see the grief and guilt and distress in his cousin's eyes... He still cared... Arthur still cared...

"Somebody help me! Help me get him down!" Arthur pled, totally ignoring the remark, probably too panicked to even register it. "Please!" he begged when no one moved to do so. Kay suddenly snapped out of it with a gasp and ran down. Morgan came after him. Kay seized Hoel and Arthur cut the rope. Kay caught the boy and laid him down. Both Arthur and Morgan fell next to their cousiin in alarm, eyes wide in shock and disbelief.

"M-Morgan? Wow… It's b-been a wh-while," Hoel said to her, smiling weakly. Morgan was too stunned to reply.

Agravaine quickly got down out of the rafters unseen. Brandelis joined him. One look at the other told Agravaine that Bran was suddenly really, really regretting this too. Whether out of fear or guilt, though, was hard to tell. But to be fair, it was probably hard to tell with him as well. They exchanged looks.

 _What have we done...?_

Quickly they made their way around to slip into the gym and hopefully go undetected.

KAK

They hadn't even sat down in the bleachers before suddenly Palamedes, shaking in rage, rose, and everything went dead quiet. They heard only his heavy breathing, and soft sobs from Safir as he held Segwarides close. And from Hoel, who was now held tightly in Arthur's arms. Arthur whose teeth were clenched tightly in guilt and grief and regret all, and whose eyes were squeezed shut in pain. Morgan was still, just holding Hoel's hand unable to think of what to do. Kay had backed away to give them space.

All at once Palamedes spun around and shot across the gym. In a second flat he'd caught Lancelot, dragging him from the bleachers and throwing him up against a wall with sabre at his throat. "If thou art behind this, knave, _pray_. Death shalt not come swift to thee!" he darkly threatened.

"I wasn't behind this, I swear to you I wasn't behind this!" Lancelot immediately defended, eyes still filled with shock. Palamedes, scowling, read his expression… It was the sincerest he'd ever known it to be…

"Then who?" Palamedes darkly asked.

"I don't know," Lancelot answered, shaking his head. He had a pretty good idea, though. Galihoden really, _really_ had it in for the Saracen brothers for whatever reason. He wasn't about to let Palamedes know that, though.

"Then die as their sacrifice!" Palamedes said, and Lancelot genuinely thought he was going to be killed.

"Galihoden! If it was anyone it was Galihoden!" Agravaine suddenly blurted. Brandelis had told him as much. He'd wanted to know where his gold was coming from. He immediately regretted saying it, but he'd seen the anguish and fear that flashed to Gawain's face, and he just… he couldn't see his brother go through that kind of pain! Lancelot was his brother's best friend, and probably his only true one too.

Palamedes looked over quickly, eyes narrowed darkly. Galihoden sat still, pale as a ghost. Palamedes shoved Lancelot away and turned to approach Galihoden, who stood fearfully. "I didn't plan this! I paid him to humiliate them, but I didn't think it would happen like this! I didn't!" he exclaimed in defense. In fact this was worse than anything he _ever_ would have done. Worse than anything he'd expected Bran to even be capable of! Bran wasn't exactly the most hardcore bully out there, so yeah, seeing this side of him was a total shocker.

"Who didst thou pay that I should put him to death _with_ thee, then?" Palamedes murderously asked.

"I-I… It was Agravaine and Brandelis!" Galihoden said. Agravaine wasn't getting away with throwing him under the carriage! Maybe he should have kept Brandelis' name quiet, though… Oops.

"Screw you Galihoden!" Agravaine freaked.

Brandelis for his part, though, was eerily silent, head bowed low. He wouldn't even look up. Palamedes darkly glared at him. He inwardly winced and drew a shaking breath, looking up. "It was my idea," he finally said, tone quiet. "Agravaine just... he just played along. This was all my idea, not his." Palamedes stared at him. Collective murmurs went through the crowd.

"What?" a member of the faculty, Sir Meliot aka Meliant, said, staring at Bran in shock.

Gawain rose, eyes wide and suddenly concerned. "Brandelis… Brandelis, oh my go. What did your…?" he began.

"Stop caring!" Brandelis shouted at him suddenly, shooting to his feet and cutting him off. "Just stop caring, Gawain!" He looked at Palamedes. "Beyond a payment Galihoden had nothing to do with this. If you want blood, take it, but the only one of us you can justifiably kill for this offence is me!"

Palamedes glared darkly at Brandelis. After a while, though, he let out a shuddering breath, bowing his head and lowering his blade, closing his eyes painfully. Brandelis's mouth quivered and he rose, fleeing from the assembly hall. "Bran!" Gawain shouted, immediately going after him. Arthur watched it all in silence, not sure what to even think anymore. Why was Gawain so concerned about him after what he'd done? There was something else going on here, and he just... he didn't know what to make of it.

KAK

"Segwarides, please," Esclabor begged, trying to keep his son calm.

"Where is Hoel?!" Segwarides demanded. "Is he alright?"

"He'll be alright," Pellinore answered for Esclabor. "He's recovering well and has been assured you're alright as well."

"And you'll stay that way. If this is the sort of treatment that you receive in this school…" Esclabor began, enraged to know of what humiliation and shame had befallen his son.

"I want to stay!" Segwarides immediately said, shocking Esclabor. It probably shocked Pellinore even more. "I want to stay," Segwarides repeated.

"Segwarides… After this, after everything that…" Esclabor began.

"There is something good here, abba. Hidden but good," Segwarides insisted. "When something is good it is worth fighting for, so you fight for it and do not give up. That is what _you_ taught us. If you will not let us fight in _your_ battle, then let us fight in this one."

Esclabor was quiet. "Alright," he finally relented. "Alright…"

Segwarides looked over at Palamedes. "You did not hurt him? Bran de Lis?" he asked.

"Nay," Palamedes replied. "Among all those accused, Lancelot alone didst not betray the others. Brandelis alone didst not try and escape his fate by putting it on another. He deserved something for that, and so I gaveth him mercy." Agravaine and Galihoden had spilled their guts. He hadn't been impressed, but neither of them was worth his time.

Segwarides nodded and relaxed a little. "Who came to help Hoel?" he asked.

"Arthur, his cousin, and his other cousin Morgan, Arthur's half-sister," Pellinore said. Segwarides frowned a bit. Again he had missed seeing this 'Arthur', but now Arthur wasn't the only one he'd become intrigued by in this school. Brandelis was climbing the ladder too.

 _He'd seen regret and hesitation and shame in his eyes before he'd pushed him off… And uncertainty and fear…_

KAK

Hoel moaned softly, starting to stir. He grimaced in pain as he slowly woke, and his eye fluttered tiredly open. He looked around. "Hey," a voice said. He frowned and looked over before stiffening up a bit, then relaxing. Arthur.

"H-hey," he said, voice weak. "L-long t-time no s-see, c-cuz."

Arthur was quiet, looking a moment guilty. "Yeah… Guess that's more my fault than yours," he finally replied.

Hoel was quiet, watching Arthur. "I've m-missed you," he finally said.

"I… I know… I missed you too…" Arthur replied. "I'm sorry I ever abandoned you."

"Ab-abandoned? Arthur, th-that's not w-what happened b-between us. We just… got b-busy with our own lives," Hoel said. "I m-mean, interests b-branched off from each other and w-went in di-different di-directions, I guess."

"Yeah… I guess," Arthur replied, offering a weak smile.

The door opened, and Morgan slipped inside. "You're awake. The concoctions worked," she said.

"Oh no. W-what did you p-put in me?" Hoel asked with a groan.

She smirked. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Arthur talked me out of it."

"Thank goodness," Hoel said.

"Figured you'd suffered enough," Arthur flatly said. He looked at Hoel, expression becoming serious. "What happened, man?"

"A-ambushed, knocked out, st-stripped, b-beat up, h-hung from the nets. P-pretty self-explanatory," Hoel answered. "Ju-just… gr-grudges and unease. P-people with p-power don't like losing their p-power. Leave it at that." Arthur looked like he didn't want to, but soon relented. "How's S-Segwarides?" Hoel asked in concern. "The other one st-strung up with me?"

"I don't know," Arthur replied. "Fine, last I understood it."

"Oh… G-guess he w-won't be staying, w-will he? N-not after all of th-that," Hoel said.

"Why do you think I have all the answers?" Arthur bluntly asked.

"He's staying," Pellinore said, entering the room to check on his other student. "He's… intrigued with this place. Why I can't fathom, but it's been determined they'll all stay here. Esclabor leaves in a day or so, and they'll remain as new students. I can only hope they survive. Given how things have been going for them lately, I have my doubts."

"That's a grim prognosis," Arthur said. Pellinore usually wasn't one for grim stuff. The principal simply shrugged.

"G-good. I th-think I could really get t-to like Segwarides," Hoel said. "Curious about his-his b-brothers too."

"So am I," Arthur admitted looking down. And how...

KAK

Esclabor, about to board his ship, held his three sons tightly. "Do not worry, my lights. I will be alright, and I need you to be as well. Can you promise me that?" he said to them.

"Verily father, if thou couldst promise us the same," Palamedes answered.

Esclabor was quiet. Could he, he wondered? "I can only promise to try," he finally replied.

"Then we'll only promise you the same," Safir replied.

"I need more. I need to have the promise that I will have you and your brothers here to come back to when it is all over," Esclabor said. "That will be my incentive to do more than try to keep my promise to you."

"Then we promise," Segwarides said quietly, mumbling against his father's tunic.

"Good. I love you all. Your sister will join you shortly," he said. "Take care of her."

"Verily, father," Palamedes said. "We relish her arrival." He nodded, kissed each of them gently, then boarded the boat and sailed off, them watching forlornly after him and exchanging worried looks with one another. They really hoped they hadn't made a mistake…

As they walked back, Segwarides said, "I would like to meet King Arthur. Do you know where he is? Either of you?"

"I hath also curious been, dear brother," Palamedes said to Safir. Safir was the only one of them who'd actually interacted with Arthur. Beyond a mention of him by Lamorak, Palamedes and Segwarides hadn't even known the guy existed until Safir had come home talking about how Arthur had protected him and Pelleas from Lancelot and the jousting team. Now _he_ was curious too, to meet this young king. Not enough to go out of his way, like Segwarides seemed to be, but enough that if this was an opportunity, he was taking it.

"I don't know where he hangs out. I mean Pelleas might, but I don't," Safir admitted as they reached the courtyard of the school.

"Then we shall seeketh him," Palamedes said.

"Seeketh who?" a voice asked suddenly, making Palamedes jump with a yelp and turn. There, not far off, were Lamorak and his brothers. Lamorak had been the one to ask.

"We seeketh Arthur," Palamedes answered, relaxing again. "He hath done my brother Safir a kindness for which I desire to thank him."

"He's in my Alchemy class," one of them, Dornar, said. "He usually gets there early because Gwen, Guinevere, is in it too. She's his crush. Anything for a chance to maybe be acknowledged by her. He's got it bad. I'll take you to it. We can hover outside the door until he shows up, and you can say whatever it is you want to say to him."

"Gramercy, Dornar," Palamedes said. Dornar shrugged and led the way. Lamorak, Percival, Aglovale, and Tor stayed behind and went their separate ways.

KAK

They approached the alchemy class and Dornar stopped outside of it. "He'll show up here soon enough," he said. "Guess I might as well wait with you. I don't have anything better to do."

"Sure. We don't mind," Safir replied. Silence fell. It was slightly awkward.

Dornar began to shift. After a moment he turned to look at Palamedes. "Uh, hey… Palamedes?"

"Yay?" Palamedes asked.

"I… It's just… Listen, I'm… Ugh, okay, let me try this again. What I'm trying to say is I'm… grateful to you. For befriending Lamorak. He's… not easy for people to get along with. I mean, me and my brothers have always been tight, us against the world. You three probably know how that is. Just… one day something happened and then Lamorak wasn't… Lamorak anymore. He stopped playing with us and started playing with music, he wouldn't dance or sing unless it was performing, music started to be this-this weird obsession and it drove people away. I mean, the guy sings half his sentences. That's freakish behavior if there was ever any, and I guess you two probably connected because _you're_ just as _freakish_."

"Hey!" Safir and Segwarides immediately defended. Palamedes waved them off. Dornar wasn't wrong, after all.

"It's just… nice. To see him connecting with someone who isn't, well, us. Someone who's equally as weird and can get his behavior," Dornar continued.

"Oh. 'Tis mine pleasure, good prince. Truth be spake, thine brother is… perhaps the first friend I hath e'er made. In mine life," Palamedes said.

"Fast friends if you're calling him a friend after a week," Dornar said.

"One day thou shalt also find thee such a friend," Palamedes said.

Dornar looked unconvinced and chose to say nothing in response. He looked down the hall and started, straightening up. "Okay, there he is," he said. They looked over. Safir smirked at the confusion he saw on the faces of his brothers as they tried to pick out this 'King Arthur'. He couldn't blame them. Arthur was in the process of getting held up against a locker by the jouster Bleoberis, who was currently shaking him down. Arthur looked terrified and was quick to give up everything. Honestly, _he_ was less than impressed too, and if _this_ had been his first impression of Arthur instead of what it had been? He wouldn't have wasted his breath even thinking about him probably.

"Who is the boy being shaken down by the giant? Why is this King Arthur not helping him?" Segwarides asked.

"Hoo boy, Safir gave you the _totally_ wrong impression of the guy if you're asking that. That, guys, _is_ King Arthur," Dornar said.

Palamedes and Segwarides blinked blankly then shot utterly disbelieving looks at Safir and Dornar. Safir was blushing red in embarrassment at the looks his brothers were giving. "You _are_ kidding, right?" Segwarides said.

"Nope. Hey Bleoberis, how about letting the punching bag go!" Donar called out. "He needs to make political connections." The giant glared over at him in annoyance, frowning. He grunted and released Arthur, obviously finished with him. Arthur made a sound of pain as he hit the ground on his backside. Bleobeis shuffled off. Arthur grimaced, rubbing his backside and rising. He looked over at Dornar, eyes narrowed suspiciously, and started, blinking. Oh great… "Artie boy! Meet the three Saracen princes yet? The guys whose people may or may not totally decimate your land? Or hey, maybe we'll be the ones decimating theirs. War can go either way, after all." The three princes shot him annoyed glares before turning back to Arthur.

Arthur turned to walk away, feeling like this was probably going to lead to bullying. "Wait, squire Arthur! We wouldst speak with thee only!" Palamedes called out.

Arthur looked incredulously back. Seriously? Poetic speak? Finally, though, he turned and approached them cautiously, warily eyeing them. "What?" he carefully asked.

"Thou didst protect mine brother from the jousting team, didst thou not?" Palamedes asked.

Arthur was quiet. "I mean, a couple of the guys _with_ me did," he said.

"But you refused to hand him over to them?" Segwarides pushed for Palamedes.

Arthur was quiet. "Look, it was no big deal," he finally said with a sigh. "They were outnumbered, that's it. They probably could have taken us _all_ out if they'd really wanted to. It was just too much hassle for them to bother with right then."

"Wait, you're serious?" Dornar asked, raising an eyebrow. "You got _Lancelot_ to back off you?"

"Back off _them_ ," Arthur corrected with a grimace. "He's been letting _me_ have it ever since, though. He wasn't impressed."

"Wait, what?" Safir demanded. "What's he been doing to you?" Even Dornar looked surprised at this.

"Look, I've always been the guy's favorite target. He just wasn't impressed that suddenly I wasn't taking it is all, so he lashed out the minute he could. Like he does. He's a creep. Leave it alone. I can deal. Really, it's nothing," Arthur said.

"Art thou saying he makes thee suffer for saving mine brother?" Palamedes demanded.

Arthur blinked. Was he? He thought if over. Huh. He hadn't thought of it like that before. He shifted a bit then sighed. "Look, it's no big deal, okay?" he said, feeling a bit awkward now. "He makes me suffer for the sake of making me suffer. Safir and Pelleas were just an excuse he didn't need, but used anyway."

"Have you told anyone about this?" Segwarides asked.

"No. It's not atypical, okay?" Arthur said. "Really. Don't make this into some weird heroic sacrifice thing."

He pushed passed them and entered the classroom, leaving them behind and vaguely surprised. Safir was a little disappointed nothing had happened that got Arthur to show his hidden colors. He'd hoped Segwarides and Palamedes could see it. "Look, whatever side of Arthur you saw out in the ruins, Safir? That was a once-in-a-lifetime deal. Arthur's still just a loser, albeit one who maybe stepped up once or twice. But in the end a loser's all he'll ever be. See you later. I've got to grab my books from my locker before class," Dornar said, waving and walking off. Safir cringed and looked towards the Alchemy room door uncertainly. Maybe Dornar was right…

Arthur, on the other side, winced at Dornar's words and bowed his head low, hurt. But the guy was right. Ultimately all he was and would ever be was a loser, so why even try to fight it? Sighing heavily, he went to a table to sit and wait for the class to start. He couldn't wait until the day was over.


	12. I Pledge to You

I Pledge to You

(A/N: And now for the final part of Act 2. Not going to guarantee when Act 3 will be up, but it's in the workings as we speak, so hopefully it won't take too long. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed so far. Thank you to all those who've reviewed so far, especially per chapter. It really means a lot to me and motivates me to push on. I'll even get ideas from your reviews and that _really_ helps.)

"Fair friend, thou spaketh once of Arthur, and toldst me 'twas believed by thee that he might become to this school an ointment for its scars. 'Twas Safir who next mentioned him unto me, and spake of how he defended him and squire Pelleas from yon jousting team. I hath met him only today. He seemed… unimpressive," Palamedes said to Lamorak.

"So does a cocoon," Lamorak replied. "Break it open, what lives inside?"

Palamedes nodded, considering this. Lamorak made a point. "We are going to meet mine brothers, and with them allies they hath made. Dost thou knowest each one, I wonder?"

"From infancy to here and now I've walked among these halls. Student, guard, or faculty, each one by name I call," Lamorak sang.

"Unless they be new," Palamedes pointed out.

Lamorak nodded and looked ahead. He spotted Palamedes's brothers and the people they were with. "Segwarides befriended the nerd squad," he said flat out. Palamedes blinked and grimaced. Of course his brother would, he wryly noted to himself. Segwarides was drawn to that whole scene. He… wasn't sure how he liked that. People like them were often made targets for more… robust cliques. "Xavier Ironside, Gures aka Guyart, who calls himself Gary, and Arthur's cousin Hoel," Lamorak said, pointing each one out. Palamedes knew already that he knew Pelleas. "We should walk away."

"Why?" Palamedes asked.

"The jocks are on the prowl," Lamorak said. "If they find us with them…" He trailed off. He probably didn't need to finish.

"I wouldst see them try," Palamedes said with a huff. Lamorak winced. He really hoped it didn't come to that.

Segwarides looked over and spotted Palamedes approaching with Lamorak. He winced. Palamedes didn't seem… impressed with his chosen clique. He guessed that wasn't surprising, but it still kind of hurt. "I greet thee fondly, fair brothers," Palamedes said to Safir and Segwarides. He looked to Pelleas and said, "'Tis well to see thee again. I thank thee from the bottom of mine heart that thou wouldst stay at mine brother's side."

"Uh… okay?" Pelleas replied. "It's not a big deal, really. I like hanging out with him."

Palamedes turned to Segwarides's friends next. "Lamorak hath mentioned thine names. Gures, Xavier Ironside, and Hoel? Merry met," he said.

"Someone's deep in a role," Gary replied. Xavier started to laugh, but ended up bleeding instead. He gasped, quickly holding his nose and looking a bit dismayed. Palamedes' smile twitched a bit. Lamorak face-palmed, shaking his head.

"H-hi. Y-you're… P-Palamedes? I'm Hoel," Hoel said. "Th-the one b-bleeding is Ironside and the g-guy w-with the metal mouth is-is Gary."

"Hoel was the other one hung from the nets, Palamedes," Safir said.

Palamedes grimaced at the memory of that incident and frowned a bit. "Art thou now well?" he asked Hoel.

"Y-yeah. I'm b-better," Hoel replied. "I… s-sorry I c-couldn't save your b-brother…"

"It was not your fault," Segwarides said, frowning in concern at his friend. "I was their target anyway."

"Why?" Safir asked.

Segwarides grimaced and shifted uneasily. "Because they wanted to hurt _you_ two. Mostly Palamedes," he answered.

"What?" Palamedes asked, eyes wide and stunned.

"Y-you… ch-challenged th-their p-pride. They d-don't like it wh-when people d-do that. Th-those people u-usually learn their p-place pretty qu-quick," Hoel said.

"It's part of why Lancelot goes after Arthur so much. Because Arthur won't _learn_ his place," Pelleas chirped up. "Every time it seems like he has, he does something that shows he hasn't. Like tries to flirt with Gwen, or talks back, or stands up against the jocks like what he did for me and Safir, or that big speech in the gym before the ogre took him to Far Far Away. He practically spit in their faces with that and even threatened the possibility of their banishment. It shook the jousting team's power over other students in the school who Arthur's words touched. Like me. Yeah, they weren't happy." Although on the plus side, Galehaut had been favorably impressed with Arthur's gall that day, though apparently not enough to back off him.

"Again thou speaketh of Arthur, but when I didst meet him, there was nothing impressive about him. At all," Palamedes said, frowning a bit.

"You have to catch him at the right moments," Pelleas said, shrugging. "It's usually pretty subtle, though. Not like with what he did for me and Safir. That's never happened before so directly. Usually it's subtly getting the jousting team's attention onto him and off another victim, but that time he practically slapped them in the face. He's not faring too well for that."

"Where is he? Do you know?" Segwarides asked, intrigued again.

"I know Ector was going to show him and Kay that he could take out Lancelot. Just to reassure them Lancelot wouldn't be getting revenge on him for what happened to King Galehaut," Hoel said.

"King Galehaut? What happened to him?" Safir asked in concern. They looked at him curiously. His shifted. "He… was nice to me. Really nice. He helped me with bullies my first day and tried to be there for me, and let me stay in class as long as I wanted to and exempted me from homework he punished everyone else with because they were all jerks… He's a good man with a good heart, or seemed that way. Probably my favorite teacher so far just for that."

"He's… complicated," Gures spoke up, grimacing and shifting a bit. "He's one of _our_ favorite teachers too because he always helps the underdog and doesn't tolerate bullying of any kind. With one big exception. Arthur…"

"It's a long story," Xavier put in.

"We have time," Segwarides said, curious now. Hoel, Pelleas, Xavier, and Gary exchanged grimaces, then turned back to the three newcomers to explain to them Galehaut's… dynamic, they'd call it, with Arthur, and what had happened between Ector and him for Arthur's sake.

KAK

Arthur and Kay sat in the bleachers watching Ector teach Lancelot's combat class. He was finally making good on his promise to prove to them that he could take Lancelot. The teacher had kind of brushed it under the rug hoping they'd forget, but with every death glare Lancelot would shoot Ector, Kay and Arthur would get more and more nervous until he finally gave in and pitted himself against Lancelot for a demonstration. It would help Lancelot let out a lot of his pent-up anger towards him, as well as reassure his sons. Ector and Lancelot paced around each other, summing one another up.

"Why are you hesitating, Lancelot? I threatened your brother, I stabbed Galehaut. You wanted this before, didn't you?" Ector challenged. "Take it now."

Lancelot scowled then lunged with a war shout, immediately clashing with Ector, who deftly blocked the strike with his two-handed blade. He shoved Lancelot back, making him stagger, and swung around at him. Lancelot blocked it and went in for a few rapid strikes aimed at various vital parts of the body that he almost wished weren't protected. Almost. Stab, stab, slash, duck and cut. Ector blocked each move, staggering him every time and going in for another hit. Most of those hits he landed. Again and again. Lancelot, frustrated, tried harder and harder, but the harder he tried the sloppier he got. I wasn't long before he was on the ground at Ector's mercy, and furious with frustration, not meeting his eyes. Ector withdrew the blade.

"One day, Lancelot, you could become the best. No student has stood against me for so long before. Ever. You have the promise. The temperament, on the other hand? That needs to be adjusted, or this is the best you're ever going to get," Ector said. He offered his hand. Lancelot brushed it away and stood, leaving Ector without a word to join the jocks. Kay and Arthur both let out breaths of relief when their father gave them an 'I told you so' look. "You can't fight in only rage and hate. While rage and hate can give you a power you never knew you had, they also make you careless. Learn to harness those emotions, learn to turn them in the right direction, and they will become much more useful. But there are emotions that are better still to harness and control; fear, love, protectiveness…"

Arthur slipped away as Ector lectured. Kay stayed, taking in his father's words quietly. Arthur, though, had been putting off something for a long time. A certain confrontation with a certain teacher about a certain dick move. He just… he wanted answers. He didn't understand. Why did he hate him? Why did he want to hurt him or kill him? Just… just why? He couldn't take this anymore! Living in dread of Galehaut? He put on a brave face, yeah, but he was honestly and seriously terrified of the guy. He'd done some reading up on the man's past. Instead of inheriting his father's domain, Galehaut's family tradition insisted that he conquer lands for himself. So, the guy had overrun thirty island kingdoms. Alone. Sorelais, aka Mann, and the Distant Isles, the Hebrides, were his favorites. The guy was a powerful overlord. Of all the kings in the land, and probably beyond, Galehaut reigned supreme. If the position of high-king was earned through strength and power, Galehaut would have it, so yeah, Arthur was scared of him. The pycho king Ryons who'd been threatening him lately? Even he steered clear. Arthur had read up on Ryons too. During Ryons' campaigns to obtain the beards of conquered kings, he'd attempted to ride against Galehaut, who he'd surrounded. He'd been confident that tackling the guy on all sides would be like spearing fish in a barrel. It wasn't. Galehaut almost wiped him off the face of the map. Probably would have, if he'd known half as much about Ryons then as he did now, but who knew? Maybe he'd just have allied with him, because If _that_ had happened, Arthur would have been royally screwed by now.

KAK

He approached the classroom where Galehaut was and raised his hand to knock. He paused again, hesitating, then drew a deep, uneasy breath. He rapped at the door. "Enter," Galehaut's voice called out. Arthur hesitated. After a moment he heard shuffling. He should run, he thought in growing dread and unease. He tried, but his legs had turned to jelly. The door opened and Galehaut started, blinking at him. Arthur stared up at him, eyes wide and nervous. There was utter silence. "I…" Arthur finally managed to squeak out. Galehaut was quiet. Arthur swallowed and looked down at a wrapping that was bound tight around Galehaut's body. "W-was that…?" He trailed off.

"Your father? Yes," Galehaut replied, grimacing and glaring at it.

"You so deserved it," Arthur flatly said. Galehaut rolled his eyes and went to shut the door. "No wait! Wait, that-that came out wrong. I mean it didn't come out wrong, but-but I didn't mean to just blurt it out loud, you know?"

"Arthur, why are you here?" Galehaut asked with a long-suffering sigh.

Arthur shifted uncomfortably and willed himself to take a deep breath. "Because… because I want to talk," he said. Galehaut drummed his fingers, eyeing Arthur guardedly. Finally, he let the boy in. He left the door open, Arthur noted. He was… kind of thankful for that. It didn't make him feel trapped. He wondered if that was why Galehaut had done it… He'd read the man had a reputation for nobility of character. He had yet to see it for himself, but he was kind of… a bit more aware of signs of it.

Galehaut sat at his desk, watching Arthur with cold eyes. "You wanted to talk? Talk," Galehaut said. Arthur was quiet. "Or leave until you figure out what you're going to say. If you intend to hold discussions with rival or enemy kings, here's a tip for you. Don't go in without a clue of what to say or how to say it."

Arthur winced and swallowed. He looked at Galehaut. "What's your biggest regret as king?" he asked, starting with what he hoped was an icebreaker.

Galehaut was quiet, a bit taken aback by this. Finally, he sighed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "When you're king, Arthur, you don't get the privilege of having only one 'biggest regret'. I regret many things."

"What about Ryons?" Arthur asked.

Galehaut looked up at Arthur, frowning. "He's threatened you. Or continued to," he deduced. Arthur was quiet. Galehaut watched him. "I should have put him down when I had the chance."

"What, you don't regret not allying with him against me?" Arthur bit.

Galehaut drummed his fingers, jaw tightening and eyes narrowing. "We would have utterly and completely destroyed you," he finally said. "But even if I'd known that then, no. I wouldn't have sullied myself by allying with that-that…"

"Monster?" Arthur supplied.

"You're being kind," Galehaut flatly answered. "And I tell you this much, that should he ride against you before I do, I'll be right there at your side stopping him dead in his tracks. Literally dead. I regret he didn't die in my retaliation. I shouldn't have let him go. I should have had him imprisoned for the rest of his wretched life or executed… But I didn't… I let him walk."

"Why?" Arthur asked.

Galehaut was quiet. "Because he begged," he finally answered. "In tears. On his knees. He made promises that were as much lies as his tears and his begging."

"What, you didn't see it?" Arthur asked.

"You don't always see the liars or actors, Arthur. That's part of the risk, when you choose mercy. You could be releasing a plague upon the world, or you could be earning the undying loyalty and friendship of one of the greatest friends you will ever have… I judged wrong, but I took the risk because I knew I could take him on if he betrayed me… I just didn't account for how well _others_ could fare…"

"Petipace," Arthur said quietly.

"Yes. Petipace. Among others," Galehaut answered. He looked up at the roof. "I think I've apologized to him every time I've seen him, from the time you brought him back to now… You aren't here to discuss only King Rience, though."

Arthur was quiet. "Why do you hate me?" he finally asked, looking up. "What did I do?"

Galehaut was silent. After a long moment, he sighed deeply through the nose, closing his eyes. "I don't hate you. None of this is about hating you."

"Then what is it?" Arthur demanded. "What is it that you're threatening me with war, demanding my submission, turning me over to the rebel kings who want to _overthrow_ me?! You have no right! I'm the true king, not you!"

"You aren't ready to be king!" Galehaut snapped sharply. "I told you once that my killing you would be a mercy to you, and that statement stands. It will stand until you become a ruler worth following! You honestly think you can stand against Rience? That you can stand against the rebel kings? I _might_ give you the rebels, but Rience or the Roman Emperor? Hah! I won't watch people who don't need to die be killed, and I won't watch this land ravaged and destroyed because a child wanted to pretend he was a man! I don't want you dead, Arthur. I want your submission and control of your domain, because gods know _you_ have no control over them. You can't even control Worceterhire! You can't even control _yourself_!"

Arthur was quiet, eyes flaming and brimming with the threat of tears. "You haven't even given me a chance to try!" he finally found the power to shout in hurt and anger. He rose and marched quickly toward the door, swiping at his eyes. Galehaut stayed still and quiet, glaring at the desk like he was trying to burn a hole through it. Arthur turned back before he left. "I won't give you my submission. I'll _never_ give you my submission! I won't hand you my thone or my kingship or my lands, I won't hand you my people, and I _won't_ keep tolerating your treacheries forever. You want me to be a king? Fine. The next time you cross me or betray me, you'll see the kind of king I can be."

"Make sure the kind of king you choose to be is the kind of king that you can still look at in a mirror, when all's said and done," Galehaut answered with a sneer, rising and advancing threateningly on him.

"What do you want from me?! First I'm too soft, then I'm too hard. What are you looking for?!" Arthur demanded, backing uneasily away a step before stopping and holding his ground.

"I'm looking for Uther!" Galehaut answered testily.

Arthur went quiet, looking struck. Tears burned in his eye. "I don't want to be my father," he finally said, voice breaking. "I want to be Arthur! I wish that was good enough for you. For _everyone_." He turned, racing away.

Galehaut watched after him, a look of guilt creeping into his eyes. He let out a shaky breath, bowing his head. "Then prove to _yourself_ that it is," he answered to nothing. He looked after the boy. "Then it will also be proven to them…"

KAK

Arthur sat, knees drawn up to his eyes, in the garden of the home where he knew Cador was right now. Gwen's dorm house. Cador was watching over it in Guinevere's father, Leodegrance's, absence. He felt his brother's presence before hearing it. Cador sat next to him. There was quiet. "What's wrong?" Cador finally asked.

"What sort of man was Uther?" Arthur asked.

Cador was quiet. "Not half the man you will become," he soon answered.

Arthur sniffed, looking up and ahead at the ocean in the distance. "Try telling that to everyone else," he answered.

"Don't live in your father's shadow, Arthur. It's not a shadow worth living in. You need to make your own. It'll take time, I know, especially for the people who knew Uther and loved him, but it'll happen… You'll be a far greater man than your father ever was," Cador said.

"If that's true, why did so many love him? Why do so many hate _me_?" Arthur asked.

Cador was quiet, thinking the question over. "The last time this land was stable, it was when your father was alive… He was a good king, ultimately. I'll give him that. Even though it didn't seem like it at first. Ever. Or even close. You never really knew how great a king he was until after the fact. Then just… one day it hit you, and you would see him for the man he was… When he died, it was… it was a blow… Then you really, _really_ saw how well he kept things together… For the longest time there was this-this vacuum and-and chaos… It's been ages now since this land has been stable. They don't hate you. They just… they don't want to be disappointed again. They've suffered and languished so long, and then this-this new king comes, the true heir, and he's-he's just a kid. He's done nothing of extraordinary importance. He sits on the throne that was his father's and nothing changes immediately because that's not how it works, it just isn't. But they _want_ it to be how it works. So, they hold him up to unrealistic expectations, they cling to the memory of the man his father was and recall only stability, and they forget that when his father first came to power there was unease too for a long time…" He looked at his sibling. "Little brother, one day you'll show them who and what King Arthur is, and then the shadow lingering over you, Uther's shadow, will become a memory, and they'll finally let sleeping dogs lie. You'll become greater than your dad ever was. Trust me on that."

Arthur was quiet. "Thank you," he finally said.

"What are brothers for?" Cador replied, smirking affectionately. "Come on. I'll walk with you." Arthur nodded gratefully and got up. Cador followed and they headed back. Cador hated that Arthur had to live in the shadow of a dead man…

KAK

As they walked through the courtyard, they heard the distant sound of fighting coming from the jousting field. They frowned, looking over curiously. It was pretty late for there to be jousting practice going on. What was happening? They exchanged looks and headed over to check it out. They entered the jousting field and froze, gasping. There, facing off against the jousting team and their loyalists, were the three Saracen princes, Lamorak, Pelleas, and the nerd squad. And they were getting the beatdown of a lifetime! "Holy crap!" Cador exclaimed.

"Dammit, come on!" Arthur said, racing forward.

"Arthur, wait!" Cador called. His brother was going to get himself killed! Quickly he pursued.

Palamedes was currently taking the brunt of the beating, held tightly between Bleoberis and Brunor le Noir. Lancelot was having a field day with him. Safir was getting it the next worst, Galihoden laying into him and Pelleas, mainly Safir, without letup. Segwarides and the nerd squad were fighting, but it wasn't long before they were overwhelmed by the rest of the team minus Gawain, Bohort, and Tristan alone, though their absences were covered by pieces of work along the lines of Agravaine, Menaduke of Mentoche, and Ozanna le Cure Hardy. Arthur scowled darkly, eyes narrowing.

"Hey! Leave them alone! Lancelot leave them alone!" Arthur shouted out. All eyes went to him sharply, the jocks scowling borderline murderously. Arthur stopped short, but quickly recovered, racing onward and sliding in between them all. He almost got a punch in the face for his troubles, but Cador caught the incoming fist and shoved the one who'd thrown it, Menaduke, backwards. A hush immediately fell as the large crowd observed the happenings, suddenly intrigued.

Lancelot glared at Arthur then smirked coldly. "Where's your backup, loser? They finally see you for what you were and ditch? What? Only Cador to lean on now?" Kay immediately abandoned the jousting team, stepping ashamedly to the side and not meeting Arthur's accusing eyes. Lancelot scowled at him but let it go, focusing on Arthur again. Kay wasn't a loss. They were pretty well fortified this time.

"Let them go," Arthur said through gritted teeth. "What, Palamedes kicked your ass and now you're throwing a tantrum? Get over it! _Lamorak_ took him out. Obviously, you just suck! And Tristan too apparently!" That remark got Tristan out of hiding and joining the jocks in place of Kay, frowning. Cador face-palmed, shaking his head hopelessly. Arthur immediately regretted his words. He should probably apologize, he hadn't needed to drag Tristan into it so he felt kind of guilty he had, but he was too fired up for that right now.

"Get him down on the ground," Lancelot said. "His brother too." They moved, but Arthur drew his sword swiftly, eyes flashing. Lancelot started, taken aback. His expression darkened. "You seriously think you're gonna take us?" he demanded.

"Not alone he won't," Cador spoke up, drawing his own weapon. After a few tense seconds, Dagonet slipped out of the crowd to stand at Arthur's side. Alymere followed. Then Balin and Balan, then Dinadan who looked more than a little eager to head-on Lancelot. Brunor, on the side of the jocks, was visibly shaken and uneasy now. Daniel joined Dinadan, and Brunor gave in. He let out a shaky breath and released Palamedes, leaving him to Bleoberis and moving to join Kay off to the side ashamedly. Degore, Lucan, and Griflet crept out of the woodwork to stand by Arthur. Bedivere, cut to the quick, shifted uncomfortably. Finally, he silently switched sides, joining Arthur instead as Lancelot gaped. Arthur looked around in surprise and disbelief. Whoa, what was happening here? Accolon stepped out next, standing by Arthur. Then Hector. Then Lionel. When Lionel went, Bohort came out of neutrality as well to stand with Arthur. Aglovale, Dornar, Tor, and Percival moved swiftly to stand in Lamorak's defence at Arthur's back. The jousting team was starting to back away uneasily, leaving the victims they'd cornered alone. A look from Daniel, and Sagremore let out a shaking breath and left their ranks quickly, joining Kay and Brunor in the line of shame. Quickly the would-be victims withdrew behind Arthur to face off their almost-tormentors, fire in their eyes. Hoel was right beside his cousin. Gures and Ironside gave Arthur slightly guilty looks as they joined him also. Last they'd seen him they'd hung him from a net, after all, but Arthur gave no sign of ill-will, focusing instead on getting Lancelot to back down again. Other students were backing away in awe and shock as Arthur's backing continued to grow. Ywain and Yvain—to Uriens' utter horror—Constantine to Cador's delight, Galeschin to Nentres', uh, neutrality? It was hard to tell with the king.

…And as Lancelot's following dwindled, some of his own even choosing Arthur, Gawain stepped into sight, standing at Arthur's side… A collective gasp and murmur went up before going silent again. Lancelot looked cut to the quick. Gawain looked regretful, but only shook his head in disappointment at his friend. Loholt quickly scrambled to join Gawain, glaring at Lancelot with fire in his eyes.

"Holy shit…" Gaheris breathed to Gareth and Mordred, eyes wide. Mordred only stared, looking vaguely intrigued by this.

"You're done here, Lancelot. Go. And take your pets _with_ you," Arthur said. "Try to go at the Saracen princes again. I dare you. I don't know about you, but I'd kind of like to _avoid_ potential war with Arabia and Persia."

Lancelot and the remaining bullies were utterly still. They looked to Lancelot for direction. Lancelot was frozen, eyes fixed on Arthur and expression unreadable. Finally, he turned on his heel and walked away without a word. The rest of them shifted uneasily, exchanging looks, then backed away more before quickly scattering in the face of Arthur's forces. Arthur let out a breath, shoulders sagging in relief. The students watching were utterly and completely silent, lips parted in awe and wonder at the sight they were beholding…

Up above, in a tower, Galehaut stood and watched. A ghost of a smile that bordered on proud crossed his lips. "You could have one day been great, Arthur," he murmured gently. If he lived long enough, he might _still_ be. He turned from the window, walking away. He'd seen all he needed to see. Lancelot would soon need some… guidance, he felt. Uncomfortably, one by one, the observers left the scene, leaving only Arthur, those who were standing in the line of shame, Nentres and Uriens, and all those who'd backed Arthur behind…

KAK

Arthur looked over at Kay, Brunor, and Sagremore, who were utterly silent. "Who would you have fought for?" he asked them.

Silence met his question. "You," Kay answered first. "Always you."

"You," Brunor answered quietly. "For my brothers' sakes, _not_ yours."

Sagremore remained quiet. They waited. He turned. "I don't owe you an answer," he said, eyes narrowing. Turning, he stormed away quickly.

Daniel winced. "Sagremore, wait!" he called, going after his friend. Sagremore of course didn't, but Daniel followed nonetheless.

Arthur watched them go then turned around and started at the number of people backing him. "Whoa," he said, a bit taken aback.

"Verily thou art the king mine brother said thou wert," Palamedes said after a moment. He bowed to Arthur. "I owe thee great apology, my liege, and much thanks."

"I-I-I…" Arthur stammered, feeling suddenly really, really uncomfortable with the scrutiny and the looks he was getting.

"Should Lancelot du Lac come after thee, I pledge to thine cause the loyalty and aid of me and mine brothers," Palamedes said.

"And I pledge to you the loyalty and aid of me and mine," Aglovale, the eldest of Pellinore's sons, spoke up quietly. He looked at Lamorak. "Are you okay, little brother?" Lamorak nodded, staring at Aglovale in awe, more than a little surprised at how quickly he'd pledged himself and them to help Arthur if Arthur should ever need it.

"G-guys, it's okay. Really. I don't need formal pledges," Arthur replied, blushing deeply. "D-do I?"

"No. But it's nice to have a guarantee," Cador said, grinning proudly at his little brother. Arthur was quiet, blinking.

"Dude, you already know you got our backing," Balan said, gesturing to himself and Balin.

"And mine," Dagonet said.

"And ours," Bedivere spoke up, gesturing to himself, Lucan, and Griflet. "From now on. I swear it… I won't stand at Lancelot's side for something like this again. Ever."

"Sir, my loyalty to you sir!" Degore said, saluting Arthur boldly. The rest of them were more hesitant and made no vows.

"I wish I could pledge to you the loyalty of my brothers and I," Gawain said. "But if you couldn't tell, there's something of a civil war going on there."

"But you can pledge him ours," Loholt said, looking up at Arthur in wide-eyed awe and wonder, all but fanboying over him.

"Then I will," Gawain said, smiling gently at his brother. "I pledge to you, uncle, my loyalty and my brother Loholt's."

"And I mine and my son Constantine's," Cador said.

Nentres was quiet. "To you I pledge my son Galeschin's loyalty," he finally said, and all eyes whipped to him in utter shock. Arthur's mouth was dropped as low as physically possible. Galeschin looked stunned, then torn. Nentres looked at his son. "Don't pretend you don't want this," he said gently.

"But-but then I have to hate you," Galeschin said, voice wavering.

"No, little one. You don't _ever_ have to hate me," Nentres replied, smiling gently and reassuringly at him. His smile fell. "But with him is where your loyalty should lie."

"Then why doesn't yours?" Galeschin asked.

"It's… complicated, sweetie," Nentres answered in a mumble, feeling Uriens' eyes boring into him in outrage. "But it doesn't have to be for you."

Galeschin was quiet. Finally, he looked at Arthur. "Okay," he finally said, smiling at his uncle. Arthur was visibly touched. Uriens just scoffed, trying to ignore the pleading looks of his own sons.

KAK

In the shadows lurked a figure. Merlin, watching on in silence and concern. "As Lancelot's support wanes, Arthur's grows," he said to one who's voice was in his mind.

"I don't approve of the danger to Lancelot," it said. A woman's tone. "Fix it, wizard. I warn you."

"You trust so little in the jousting team and in Lancelot?" Merlin asked her.

She was quiet. "Arthur ascends, Lancelot descends, and Lancelot knows it. It scares him. All of them," she finally said.

"Losing power is always terrifying to those who need it to feel like they're worth something," Merlin replied. The voice was quiet. "Perhaps Lancelot needs this to happen more than anyone else."

"We will see," she answered, tone slightly bitter. Then she was gone, and Merlin smirked to himself knowingly...


	13. Ripping Seams

_Act 3: The Goblin Rising_

(A/N: So sorry for the delay in getting this act up, but I wasn't happy with it at all and am in the process of going over it with a fine-tooth comb and combining and changing and fixing things as I go. Would have been up two days ago, if I'd let it be, but again, wasn't happy with it and I'd prefer to put out better quality. This chapter is finally at a stage where I'm a bit happier with it, and hopefully it'll help draw things out so future chapters make sense instead of having a whole other plot suddenly thrown in. At least that's my intent with this revamp. It does mean, though, that updates to it might not be daily, so be warned about that. Hope you enjoy.)

Ripping Seams

Questions of loyalty, questions of friendship, questions of love… So many questions… Questions, it's said, are a sign of a lack of trust. Maybe they're right, maybe not. I know there was once a time we trusted each other implicitly, all of us. Even despite questions. Having questions about one another but trusting each other anyway just helped _enforce_ our trust… It was Mordred who made questions dangerous. Mordred and his manipulations, his deceit, his cruelty… It was Anna who made Mordred cruel… It was me who did absolutely nothing to stop it… Just at some point, questions turned into secrets, which turned into manipulations, which became lack of trust, which became rash action, which became betrayal, which became death… Now here we are… They said I was a good king… They were wrong, and I was _nothing_ … I remember when questions were still good...

Past

"Lancelot is getting weak," Brandelis said to the other jocks quietly, before Lancelot could arrive at practice and overhear. "The way he backed down from Arthur and company? It was pathetic!"

"The numbers weren't exactly in our favor, Brandelis," Brunor replied.

"No thanks to you," Glihoden said with a sneer.

"I won't fight against my own brothers! Not for you, not for him, not for anyone," Brunor sharply retorted.

"Lancelot's been on borrowed time for a long time now," Tristan spoke up. "His waning influence is no surprise. At least not to me."

"Yeah, well without his influence or power, what good is he to _us_?" Galihooden asked.

"Den we should jump ship while de jumpin's good," Bleoberis flatly said.

"He's your cousin," Kay said to Bleoberis, frowning at him.

"You gots no voice here," Bleobeis said. "You wasn't no help neither."

"Blood and water," Kay replied, eyes narrowing.

"He isn't even your blood!" Sagremore said with a scoff.

"Screw yourself, Sagremore! Or is Daniel already doing that for you?" Kay shot.

"You leave Daniel the hell out of this, Kay!" Brunor shouted furiously. Sagremore looked livid, like he wanted to rip Kay's head off for that remark.

"What's going on here!" Lancelot snapped sharply, arriving on scene. All eyes went to him quickly, narrowed.

"Hey, the pussy's back," Brandelis said.

"The hell are you bringing that backstabbing traitor here for?" Galihoden asked, pointing at Gawain who was at Lancelot's side. "Heck, why the hell haven't you tossed him, Bedivere, and your little cousin Bors out on their heads yet? They've stopped being assets. Now they're just detriments."

"To your hard-on for power maybe, but not to the jousting team!" Bedivere snapped at him.

"Die in a hole Bedivere!" Galihoden shot.

"Enough!" Lancelot shouted. They all fell silent, glaring daggers at one another. "We're supposed to be a team! A unit! Act like it!"

"Then you get the morons who are choosing the lame-ass king over their teammates out of here!" Galihoden shot.

"That lame-ass king is my brother, you little cun…" Kay began.

Bedivere quickly covered his mouth in alarm. "Okay, that's enough of that!" he quickly said, voice loud. "Let's just-just all take a breath, okay?" They looked like they wanted to lash out at him, but eventually calmed down and stayed quiet. Bedivere tentatively removed his hand from Kay's mouth, really, really hoping the guy restrained himself from going on the attack. Lancelot watched on in disbelief, not even sure what he was supposed to do now that they were all quiet.

 _He felt his influence waning…_

"We're waitin' cuz," Bleoberis grumbled to Lancelot. "Where de hell is Bohort?"

Lancelot shifted. "Bors is… preoccupied," he said.

"His sudden pious spiel? Gag me with a spoon," Brandelis said, scoffing. "So, what's the plan, 'glorious leader'?"

Lancelot was quiet. Sagremore became bemused. "Well isn't this rich? Lancelot du Lac, for once at a loss for what to say or do. Sad. What's it like, man? Becoming the underdog's underdog?"

"Shut up!" Lancelot snapped viciously. "Arthur's nothing!"

"Oh yeah? Tell that to the flipping thirty-two guys who stood at his back against us, man!" Galihoden shot. "Some of which you're for some reason allowing to hang around still!"

"They're part of our group," Lancelot said.

"What even is 'our group' anymore, Lance? What?!" Galihoden demanded. "What ever was?!" Lancelot was silent, shifting uncomfortably, eyes darting warily around, on guard for any signs of rebellion. There were a lot of them. Not just against him, but against each other. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to say!

"You're right, Galihoden. Things are confused, the status quo is changing, and it's scary, I get it. But we're still teammates," Gawain said.

"Hah! Don't even kid yourself. We were a team in title only," Sagremore said with a scoff. "Let's just get practice over with so we can get out of one another's sight."

Lancelot was quiet. "Fine," he finally relented. Silently, wordlessly, they began.

KAK

Arthur sat in Questing class. It was one of the few classes he didn't mind. Well, the teacher he was kind of cautious about because the guy was Lancelot's cousin, one of the many, but Sir Villiers the Valiant barely seemed to acknowledge Lance sometimes, and hadn't really done much that was malicious towards him, but all-in-all the class was okay. Except for the fact Uriens shared it with him. But then so did Alymere and Dagonet and Dinadan, so that was a plus. The unit they were on was creatures and animals. The monster they were studying? The goblin. Which had Dinadan rivetted for obvious reasons, he noted, and a boy in Lancelot's combat class, Geraint aka Erec, for some reason hunched in on himself and looking miserable. Arthur didn't understand why. At least not until they got to a bit of backstory.

 _"The hobs are known to kidnap children."_

That was the line Villiers said that made Arthur sit up a bit straighter, tensing up. The children began to mutter uncertainly to each other. A hand went up. Meleagant, Arthur noted. King Bagdemagus's only son and prep of the preps. He ran the student board and was pretty entitled most of the time it seemed. "Meleagant," Villiers said.

"Sir, what do they do with the children they kidnap?" he asked, confused as to what possible motivation there could be.

"What they do with them is ofen uncertain," Villiers replied. "But… but it is suspected they either skin and eat them, or use their dark powers to corrupt theem and twist them into one of them. Perhaps even both."

Sience reigned. After a moment, another boy stuck up his hand. Ozanna le Cure Hardy, Arthur noted, who's jerkishness was a bit of a puzzle. Sometimes he seemed okay, sometimes he was anything but. "Sir, has… has anyone in this school lost someone to them?" he asked a bit uneasily.

Quiet. "Yes," Villiars finally replied. "Many." Silence once more as the students all uneasily shifted in their seats.

"That's so messed up," Meleagant finally remarked. The door of the classroom opened and shut. The students all looked over to see a newly vacated desk. Someone had slippd out. Arthur, confused, went through the faces he'd seen here. Geraint, he realized. Aka Erec. He'd been the one who'd been sitting there. He was in Lance's Combat class, he knew. He frowned, puzzled at Geraint's silent exit. He looked at the teacher, who was watching the door quietly.

Finally, Sir Villiers turned attention back to them. "From time to time children have gone missing. They leave campus to play out in the woods, or in the ruins… Or to try and explore like their fathers and mothers. Or like their brothers and sisters… They want to be like them…" he quietly said. "Sometimes they are found alive, sometimes… sometimes there are only bodies… Sometimes there's nothing at all, and you're left to wonder, and _that_ is the worst."

Arthur was quiet. "So, there've been a lot of children lost from here?" he asked after a moment.

"More than we know, I think," Villiars confirmed. "But Pynchley didn't do his job and no one was doing it for him and so we don't… have a record. Of who they all were."

"But-but surely some of those kids had people who cared about them!" Uriens blurted.

"Most of those children were the forgotten. The ones who had no one," Villiars said. "But if… if anyone in this school has any sort of record of the lost, it would be… It would be Geraint, aka Erec, fab Erbin…"

"Who?" Dagonet asked.

"Sagremore's eternal rival," Villiars said. "He has Combat class with Lancelot, Tristan, Galihoden, Sagremore, Pelleas, and Palamedes. Probably others that aren't coming to mind right now too."

"Why would _he_ have a record?" Arthur asked.

Silence. "Because both of his little brothers were taken by goblins," Villiers finally replied, looking over them. The class started, eyes widening in surprise, and exchanged shocked looks with one another. "Don't bring it up to him. Please. It's better that way for everyone." They were quiet, unsure what to say. Dinadan stared at the door silently. Well, this just became a thousand times more complicated, he noted to himself.

KAK

Arthur, Alymere, Dagonet, and Dinadan walked down the hall together. "Well that was probably the darkest lesson Sir Villiers has given yet," Dagonet said.

"He didn't pull punches this time," Alymere agreed, grimacing. "So, you gonna tell us what you were cooking up in class?" he asked Dinadan.

"Nope," Dinadan replied. "Was hoping to glean info on how to make contact with a goblin king. Instead I just got depressed, so yeah. Whatever I was cooking up? Out the window now. Hey, I'll catch you guys later, okay? Have some stuff to do."

"Stuff? What stuff?" Arthur asked.

"The kind of stuff you don't need to worry your kingly head about," Dinadan replied, poking his forehead. "There's personal stuff going on. It's not a big deal."

"Uh, okay?" Dagonet replied, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Dinadan smirked and walked away with a wave. Dagonet, Alymere, and Arthur exchanged questioning glances before shrugging and separating.

Dinadan peered around the corner until he was sure they were gone, then sighed. Now he could start putting his plan in action. Okay, so he'd lied about his its going out the winow. Sue him. This wasn't exactly something he wanted to drag guys he could actually stand into. He would go for ones he had no attachment to, thank you very much. Especially if this was going to get dangerous. Now, time to seek out some bodyguards. He smirked to himself and headed off to scout the halls for any saps—uh, he meant mercenaries!—he could con—he meant talk!—into accompanying him.

KAK

Tristan walked down the halls of Worcestershire in silence, mind swirling with a million different thoughts. The jousting team was breaking apart at the seams. He couldn't say he was surprised. There were true friends and there were false ones. The jousting team was the definition of false. With exception to Lancelot and Gawain, and Kay and Bedivere, none of them actually gave a whit about one another. Maybe Bleoberis and Brunor were on okay terms on and off-field, but friends was stretching it. Still… it hurt... Oh well. At least for a while he'd felt like he'd belonged somewhere. "Accolon, come on man," he heard someone pleading. He glanced over and grimaced. Dinadan. Of course.

"I showed you the place, but I'm not going back there, Dinadan. Find someone else," Accolon brushed off in annoyance. "I don't care how much you're willing to pay for a companion. Why don't you go to the jousting team?"

"Because I can't stand those pricks?" Dinadan replied like it was obvious.

"Bully for you. You're on your own then," Accolon said. "Now get lost before I practice a new spell I learned on you."

"You'll regret missing out on this!" Dinadan shot, walking off. Tristan shook his head bitterly. Ugh, he couldn't stand that guy. Everything he stood for, everything he did, utterly disgusted Tristan. Their values were totally opposite each other it seemed. Dinadan continued moving through the halls trying to hire anyone who'd listen to him. What was he even hiring them for, Tristan wondered? Maybe sex. Who knew? It wasn't like it was unlikely. He hoped Dinadan walked right on by. First time he'd met the guy, sparks had flown between them! Sparks of hate, that is, so he was banking on the fact Dinadan wouldn't be desperate enough to stop at him. He never was. "Tristan, buddy!" Dinadan's voice said.

Tristan started and visibly shuddered. Of course, he could be wrong. Everyone was wrong sometimes. "Don't ever, _ever_ call me that," he said in response flatly, turning to his locker and opening it up.

"Tristan, prick," Dinadan said. Tristan slammed his locker and turned, walking away. Forget the books. He didn't need them. "Wait, wait, hold on, I have a proposition for you."

"Take your proposition and shove it where the sun doesn't shine," Tristan repleid.

"There's money in it for you! Lots of it," Dinadan insisted, grinning widely and getting in front of him, trying to toss him a sales pitch. "Adventure, mystery, excitement, and you gete paid for it! What, that doesn't appeal to you at all?"

"It does. When the offer comes from _you_ though, that's another story," Tristan replied. "Now get out of my face."

"Come on, please, I'm desperate here," Dinadan said.

"You're desperate for a lot of things, and none of them I'm into," Tristan replied.

"Ooh, tempting, but no, it's nothing like that!" Dinadan insisted.

"Dinadan, back the hell off and get someone else to do your dirty work," Tristan said. "I'll get the jousting team down your throat if you don't."

" _That_ crumbling farce?" Dinadan asked. "Yeah right." Tristan froze, as did Dinadan. Dinadan frowned. Tristan met his eyes darkly and he tensed, realizing then that he'd probably made a mistake. Tristan didn't even talk to him. Just shoved roughly passed, knocking him against the lockers and moving swiftly away without looking back. "Yeah, you run from the truth all you want, but in the morning, it'll still be there!" Dinadan called after him. He didn't stop. "Jerkass," Dinadan grumbled. He continued along his way, trying to hire some other unsuspecting sap to play bodyguard for him.

Flashback

 _"Tristan, meet your partner for this assignment, Dinadan," Sir Gahalantine of their Law and Order class said, introducing the two young teens._

 _"Hi," Tristan said quietly._

 _"Hey," Dinadan replied. Silence. "Isn't this the square?" Dinadan asked, turning to Gahalantine. Tristan started, a bit taken aback by the kind of hurtful remark._

 _"This is the boy who's going to balance you out and make sure you actually get your work done this time," Gahalantine replied._

 _Tristan started. "I thought you said you wouldn't stick me with anymore lazy partners!" he protested. Then realized that maybe that remark had been more hurtful than he'd meant it to be, like Dinadan's was for him._

 _"Lazy is as lazy does," Dinadan replied._

 _"I'm not doing your work for you," Tristan said, frowning._

 _"You underestimate me," Dinadan said._

 _"Don't you feel even a little curious about what it feels like to actually do something for yourself?" Tristan bit._

 _"Don't you ever feel even a little curious about what it's like to just kick back and let the other sorry saps do the work?" Dinadan asked._

 _"No!" Tristan replied. "I like contributing."_

 _"Same! I like contributing to the workers' sense of pride over their accomplishments. Why take the spotlight from them and put some of it on me?" Dinadan said. Tristan glared, Dinadan smirked codlly, and they both had known it was going to be the partnership from hell._

 _KAK_

 _"What?!" Tristan freaked, later on that day after school, when they got together to work on their project. "Are you seriously advocating the slave trade?!"_

 _"Oh, come on, let's get real. Look, at least while it's legal the kingdom can keep a cap on it. You think abolishing slavery's gonna make it go away? Seriously? It'll just go underground and **then** where are the rules and regulations protecting them?" Diandan replied._

 _" **What** rules and regulations protecting them?!" Tristan snapped._

 _"So then advocate for better ones that will better protect them," Dinadan replied. "Look, for prisoners of war it's slavery or death. What would you choose?" Dinadan asked._

 _"Death!" Tristan replied._

 _"Did I forget to mention most get tortured heinously before death?" Dinadan asked. Tristan was quiet. "At least with slavery you might end up with a half-decent master and not a whack job."_

 _"Or I might end up with the whack job and wish I'd chosen torture and death! In fact, it's **more** likely I'll end up with a whack job. At least I know torture will only last so long before execution follows," Tristan replied._

 _"Or they keep you their test dummy for the rest of your life," Dinadan said._

 _"We're not advocating slavery!" Tristan shot._

 _"I'm not saying advocate slavery, I'm saying advocate better protection for slaves!" Dinadan replied. "Look man, if there was any chance of slavery actually and truly being abolished, I'd go for it full tilt. But there's not because there's a such thing as an underground, and it ain't pretty!" They'd parted company both in a huff. That project day was totally wasted._

 _KAK_

 _The next day, needless to say, went no better. Dinadan didn't show up at the time they agreed to meet, so Tristan went to find him and drag his lazy backside off to work. When he found him in his dorm house, he wished he could wash his eyes and his brain. Unfortunately, he couldn't, so now the image of Dinadan bare as a babe in bed with three ladies who obviously weren't from school, was permanently branded in his mind. The women were all probably passed school age but apparently that didn't matter one whit to Dinadan. He'd probably gone to town to prowl around for some prostitutes he could bring back with him, because Dinadan was just that depraved._

 _"Don't you know to knock?" Dinadan asked, obviously not perturbed in the least. Which was a contrast to the looks of utter panic on the faces of the three women with him. Tristan was frozen in place, unable to move as he gawked with wide eyes at the sight._

 _"You're fifteen!" he finally managed to blurt out. Judging by Dinadan's eye roll and the stunned, horrified expressions that passed the faces of the women, **they** hadn't known that. He'd probably claimed older._

 _"I'm sorry, does that mean my body isn't supposed to work?" Dinadan replied. The women scrambled to get dressed so they wouldn't be caught sleeping with a kid by anyone else. Dinadan didn't bother trying to stop them from leaving. "What do you want?"_

 _"Do you have no shame?! You've utterly humiliated these poor women!" Tristan said, pointing at them._

 _"Ooh, Tristan, protector of fair maidens," Dinadan replied sarcastically, getting out of bed. "If they couldn't guess I was a kid when I brought them to a high school and into a dorm house, that's their issue."_

 _"Or they thought you were a dorm father!" Tristan shot._

 _"Because a dorm father would bring prostitutes into the dorm house he's supposed to be babysitting?" Dinadan replied, getting dressed._

 _"Maybe they thought you were one of the college-age ones!" Tristan argued still._

 _"If they didn't notice the dorm was filled with baby-faces, that's their problem not mine," Dinadan replied._

 _"You depraved son of a bitch!" Tristan snapped._

 _"That's nothing. Woke up from a hangover after a party in bed with Miles about a week ago," Dinadan replied._

 _"What the hell is your problem?!" Tristan shot._

 _"Right now? You! Outside of you? I… It doesn't even matter! Let's just go pick up that stupid project again and get this nightmare of a partnership done," Dinadan replied. Tristan, embarrassed and appalled, didn't quite catch on back then that the question hadn't actually been answered…_

 _KAK_

 _"Well, you passed boys. With a very good grade," Gahalantine said to them._

 _"Yeah, great, now never, ever, ever put us together again, Sir Gahalantine," Dinadan replied, glaring daggers at him. Tristan was staring at the floor, eyes narrowed and bitter and frustrated._

 _"Was it really as bad as all that?" Gahalantine asked._

 _"Yes," Tristan flatly said._

 _"Hmm. Now ask yourselves if that was because of your natures, or because you'd already told yourselves you were going to hate one another before going into this," Gahalantine answered._

 _"It was nature," they said together bluntly, before shooting sharp and annoyed looks at one another._

 _Gahalantine was quiet, reading them. "Really? Because I think that if it had been your natures, you wouldn't be so bitter towards me for putting you together," he said._

 _"Yeah, well you think wrong," Dinadan replied._

 _"Hmm… I expected more from you at least, Tristan," Gahalantine said, sounding vaguely disappointed._

 _Tristan started, looking up. "What?" he asked testily._

 _"Dismissed boys," Gahalantine said._

 _"You can't just…" Tristan began._

 _"I said dismissed," he warned, looking up at them slightly coldly._

 _"Sure it isn't me you expected more from?" Dinadan bit at the teacher before turning and storming off. Tristan blinked, trying to figure out if Dinadan had been defending him or not, then decided that given their… rough partnership, it was less than likely. Sighing, he turned and left without a word to the teacher. They hadn't spoken to one another since._

End Flashback

"Bandits have been more pronounced in the area," Sir Morholt, aka Morhaus, the captain of the school guard, said to Pellinore.

"Wonderful. Exactly what we don't need," Pellinore said.

"A goblin, also, was seen lingering not long ago. Far, far from the only known goblin cave on this island," Morholt said.

Pellinore was quiet. "Goddammit, they're probably looking to replenish their ranks," he soon replied, massaging his temples and closing his eyes. "No little ones go off campus under any circumstances unless it's to return to their homes with an escort."

"Has that stopped them before?" Morholt dryly asked.

"God I wish it had," Pellinore said, sighing. "Do those who've lost loved ones to the loathesome beast know they're lurking again?"

"Should they?" Morhaus asked. "If they did, they may try to hunt them alone. And be killed for the trouble. Grief, revenge… they make people do stupid, stupid things…"

"I don't even know anymore what to do," Pellinore said, ruefully shaking his head. "Use your discernment. Now, where are the bandits coming from?"

"It's a travelling band of them. They came from Far Far Away, I believe. Whether to establish a new headquartes or make alliances, I'm not sure. It isn't a overly large group, but they're proficient and dangerous, and their vantage point allows them to see potential threats from a good distance away. Attacking them would be a fool's errand without careful planning. They're sitting on a cliff ledge, so to reach them you either climb or take the one path up, which is constantly guarded. Your other option is to go around the mountains and climb down from above, but that also would be hard for them to miss," Morholt replied.

"Have they threatened students at all? Kidnapped anyone? Talked to slavers? Or am I asking too much of you?" Pellinore said.

"You are asking too much, my lord," Morhaus answered ruefully. "Their leader is a clever, clever man, and a protective one. I have heard the name Mador de la Porte floated about."

Pellinore sighed. If it wasn't one thing it was another. "Thank you, Morholt. Do what you can about this situation, please." Morholt nodded and bowed to the man before turning and leaving.

Pellinore looked over at Arthur, who was blinking blankly on a chair nearby. "I just came in to tell you Ector wanted to set up a meeting," he said. "Why didn't you send me out?"

"Because I wanted you to observe how a king can handle things," Pellinore replied.

Arthur started and flushed. "So, what? Now there are goblin threats and bandits?" he said after a moment.

"There are always problems creeping up, Arthur. All we can do is monitor them," Pellinore said.

"Um, if it's any help, Agravaine, Dinadan, and Lucan, when they went to try and save Degore, ran across bandits than might be the same ones you're dealing with now. They could probably give Moholt a description of them," Arthur offered.

"A description won't do us much good, I'm afraid. Morholt knows where they are. He just can't get to them," Pellinore said.

"Oh," Arthur said, bowing his head a bit.

"It was a good effort, my boy," Pellinore said. "What time is Ector free for a meeting?"

"Um, after school's out probably," Arthur said.

"Alright. Tell him to come see me after the last class. I'll try to get him in as soon as I can," Pellinore replied.

"What are you arranging?" Arthur asked.

Pellinore smiled. "The Game of Houses," he answered. Arthur grimaced. That was a pretty brutal event… "Hopefully it'll be better than it has in other years. I've made a few changes to things. Not enough, if I'm to be perfectly honest, but a few."

Arthur nodded and hesitated. "Uh, sir? Do you… know what happened with Griflet…? And the goblins?" he asked.

Pellinore was quiet, frowning. He sighed. "Villiars has been talking," he said a bit bitterly. Erec wouldn't be happy. "I know only that he lost two brothers to them. He's far from the only one who's lost someone precious to them…

"Who else did?" Arthur asked.

"I've said too much. Go on now, you. And don't chase ghosts, my boy. It only ends in pain. Trust me. I know," Pellinore said. Arthur winced then nodded, rising and leaving. Pellinore watched after him then sighed again, shaking his head hopelessly. He looked out the window in concern. He hoped this goblin nonsense was put to rest quickly and that no one stirred them up further than they were already stirred…

KAK

Tristan gaped in disbelief as Dinadan approached Lancelot and the rest of the team during a practice. And gave his sales pitch to them. To Tristan's horror, Lance was obviously interested. Doubly to his horror, the others seemed intrigued with the prospect too. "You're seriously going through with this finding a goblin queen thing?" Brunor finally spoke up. Tristan almost cheered him.

"Well it's that or one day you wake up to find big bro isn't there anymore," Dinadan replied. Brunor tensed up a bit and shifted uneasily. "Yeah. I'm going after a goblin king to play Cupid for a goblin queen, so I don't end up her fu…" Bohort cleared his throat and Dinadan paused, frowning at him. He considered being defiant, but then determined he didn't want to isolate them right now. They were like his last chance at this point. "Boy toy," he amended.

"They'll probably have _you_ for the wedding feast," Sagremore flatly said.

"Which is why I'm looking to hire. And why I'm willing to pay such a large sum to any one of _you_ lucky gentlemen who wants a bit of adventure and a lot of extra gold lining his pockets," Dinadan replied. "Come on, all of us already know where their cave is. I just… need a few extra hands. Hoards, am I right? Huh? Please?"

They all glared at him. "How much is this 'large sum'?" Galihoden finally asked.

"Oh, not much, just five-hundred gold each," Dinadan replied.

"What?!" they all exclaimed. Immediately they were falling over themselves to volunteer their services as Dinadan smirked victoriously. Tristan watched on in disgust, but soon sighed. He guessed that while he _did_ have a choice, he probably shouldn't even bother declining at this point. It wasn't like he had better things to do at school, all his teammates _were_ heading out, and it _was_ a generous sum. He waited patiently for the others to get their greedy hands on the gold Dinadan was giving out like candy—because of course he was—then approached to get his own share.

"You're a piece of work," he bit at Dinadan coldly.

"You're still hiring yourself out," Dinadan replied.

Tristan frowned. "You know what? Keep your money," he said, withdrawing his hand from the coin purse. "I'm doing this because I have nothing better to do once the others go off campus."

"Hey, not arguing," Diandan replied, gladly hanging onto the five-hundred gold for himself. Tristan shook his head bitterly. "Let's go boys," Dinadan sang out, turning and heading off. They followed him dutifully.

"Why didn't you go to any of your friends? They would probably have been easier and cheaper to get on your side?" Gawain asked quietly, coming up alongside him.

"Because I'm not willing to expend my friends, but _you_ guys I'm okay with expending. Except for Brunor. And you. But Brunor would have followed anyway, and you. Uh, why are you coming, again?" Dinadan asked.

Gawain was quiet. "Because you need help?" he finally settled on replying. "And you pay damn good." Dinadan smirked.

"So, you went to the best right off, Din?" Lancelot said.

"Wasn't willing to expend lesser men than all of you," Dinadan replied, laying the flattery on thick.

"He'd lying. He asked plenty of people before us. _We_ were stupid enough to accept. No one else could be bothered, not even for the gold. They were the smart ones," Tristan put in so Dinadan couldnn't pretend to be more noble than he was.

Dinadan winced and frowned at him before sheepishly grinning at Lancelot, who was raising a dubious eyebrow. "I mean, this mission's not that stupid. Agravaine, Lucan, and I came out on top against the goblin queen's forces. Sure, we had a bit of an assist from Griflet and… and Miles… but hey, we came out on top!" he said.

Lancelot rolled his eyes, looking away. Gawain winced. "I'm sorry. About Miles," he quietly said. "I… I wish I could have done something to save him."

Dinadan was quiet. "Look, let's just… not talk about Miles. Please?" he said, casual tone sounding slightly strained. Gawain nodded in understanding and dropped it.

KAK

It wasn't long before they reached the canyon and were looking down into it. "So, anyone here have any skill with diplomacy?" Dinadan finally asked.

"Your best bet is me, Tristan, or believe it or not Galihoden. In fact, the one you'd be best off with is Galihoden," Gawain said.

"Are you serious?" Dinadan flatly asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Mostly A's in politics," Gawain confirmed.

Dinadan looked incredulously at the Count of Honolan. "You're pulling my leg," he said.

"Just because I don't use it on campus doesn't mean I don't elsewhere!" Galihoden defended, frowning.

"You're like, the next biggest creep on this team after Lancelot," Dinadan said.

"Hey, you may have paid us, jackass, but if you keep this up, I'm riding away and taking your money with me," Galihoden snippily replied. Dinadan relented, rolling his eyes.

"Looks like you're the negotiator then," Gawain said to Galihoden.

"Can I negotiate trading away _him_?" Galihoden asked, pointing at Dinadan.

"No bargaining with people as the price," Gawain flatly replied.

"If we don't climb down into that ravine, we're going to have to access this canyon from its entry point. _That's_ probably on the beach somewhere," Sagremore said.

"I mean, I have some rope, but it's not going to go all the way down. Would have had to be like fifty pounds or more if it was going to," Dinadan said. "We can make it, oh, probably a quarter of the way with what I brought, but the rest will have to be freestyle."

"I have rope too. It might get us to the halfway point," Bedivere said.

"It would be less life-threatening to access it from the entry point on the beach," Bohort, Bors, remarked.

"Here, here," Lancelot agreed, looking incredulously down into the gorge. "Might reach a slope before we reach the beach, if we're lucky."

"These are some pretty vertical cliffs, so I doubt it," Brunor said.

"There _might_ be slide areas," Bohort argued, really not liking the idea of climbing down freestyle.

Sagremore rolled his eyes at the argument taking place and climbed off his horse while they bickered. He tied a rope he'd brought as well tightly around a rock and tossed it over the edge. While they kept debating about what to do, he started climbing down. The rope he'd brought got him about a third of the way, he noted. He slid down quickly and efficiently before touching his feet on a ledge. He looked over it, checking out the rest of the drop, then looked back up and blew a piercing whistle with his fingers. The arguing stopped and suddenly they were all there peering over the edge and looking shocked and horrified at what he was doing.

"Pass me your ropes!" he shouted up. "I'm testing how far down we can get with them!" They gaped in disbelief. "We don't have all day, morons!" Sagremore prompted, frowning. After a moment, Bedivere tossed down his rope, then Dinadan tossed down his. Sagremore caught the coils and unwound one of them. He tied it tight and started down again. They watched in silence. He reached a ledge about a quarter more down. He tied the last rope, threw it over, and climbed down it as well. He checked how far he was from the bottom and smirked. "Oh yeah, this'll work!" he called up. He was what, eleven out of twelve parts down now? Considering his math was right, though he wasn't banking on it because he was just that crappy at math. Point was, they were most of the way down now. He could probably jump the rest and not have to worry about broken bones, but just to be safe he climbed down the short bit that was left and looked around warily, listening for anything out of the ordinary. It seemed pretty normal. One by one the others began to join him as they worked up the courage to climb down too.

Soon they were all gathered at the bottom. "You could have mentioned you had rope before," Dinadan said. Sagremore shrugged it off. "So, from here we head that way," Dinadan said, pointing in the direction heading away from the coast.

"No crap," Brunor bit. Dinadan frowned at his brother and hit him up upside the head. "Ow!"

"You behave," Dinadan warned. "I'll tolerate your dipstick friends' abuse, but _you_ don't get to take an attitude with me, brat." Brunor glared angrily at his brother then looked down in annoyance, though he didn't say anything. "Now let's get a move on. During the day they're pretty docile, far as I know. We get there at night, though, things are probably gonna be hairy."

"You've done your homework," Lancelot said, sounding a bit impressed.

"See how serious I am about this?" Dinadan replied, smirking dryly.

Tristan raised an eyebrow at Dinadan. It was… strange to him, how desperate Dinadan was not to go back to the goblin queen. As far as he'd understood the story, Dinadan had been impressed and had approved of her prowess in bed. Now it seeme he really, _really_ didn't want to return, and Tristan guessed that maybe it was the freedom factor and 'too much of a good thing', as Dinadan had semi-claimed, but this seemed like… something else. He just didn't know what. Dinadan started off at a quick clip, them following. Tristan considered making his way up to Dinadan's side and quizzing him, but soon determined against it. It wasn't his business anyway.

KAK

It was a good long walk before they finally made it to the mouth of the ominous looking cave. They stared at it warily. "I smell decay," Brunor remarked after a moment.

"Oh great. Dead things. We should probably have a plan. Right?" Sagremore asked.

"Uh, yeah," Dinadan said like it was obvious. Sagremore frowned at him.

"Dinadan goes in with Galihoden as his negotiator. With luck it works out. If it doesn't, they run. Gawain, Brandelis, Sagremore, and Bohort can tail them and stay in hiding. Be the immediate backup, covering their escape. The rest of us can hang out farther back, and when they reach us we jump in to help fight them back, so we can get out alive," Lancelot said.

"That's real reassuring," Dinadan said, grimacing.

"Attack in waves, throw them off. It's not a bad idea," Tristan said. "If nothing else, it'll confuse them enough to give us a hope of escape. The goblins aren't exactly the smartest things out there."

"Fine. We'll do it," Galihoden said. "Oh five-hundred gold so isn't worth this." He rose and looked uneasily into the cave. He took a breath and stepped inside. The others followed him. Some distance into the cave, Lancelot, Bleoberis, Tristan, Bedivere, and Kay dropped off. Then Gawian, Bohort, Sagremore, and Brandelis. Now it was only Dinadan and Galihoden. It wasn't long before goblin drum beats were heard echoing in the caverns…

"Okay, time to get your Count hat on," Dinadan said.

"I know," Galihoden replied, rolling his eyes.

"Head in the game. This is do or die," Dinadan said.

"Don't try to motivate me," Galihoden said, grimacing. He didn't like that turn of phrase. He crouched down with Dinadan, and the two moved to a rock and peered down.

"Wow that's an ugly mother…" Dinadan began.

"Don't," Galihoden warned, frowning.

"Of pearl?" Dinadan lamely covered.

Galihoden rolled his eyes and looked back. He grimaced. "You seriously slept with the female counterpart to _that_?"

"She was legitimately gorgeous. For a goblin. That? I don't even know _what_ to call that," Dinadan replied.

"How are we playing this, Din?" Galihoden asked.

"Uh…" Dinadan began. He trailed off. He… actually wasn't sure.

Galihoden glared at him darkly. "Really? Really," he said.

"I know they don't like light?" Dinadan lamely offered.

Galihoden scowled at him. He shifted. Galihoden sighed. "Go back to Lancelot and ask him how we can breach this. I'll play sentinel until you're back," he said.

"Lancelot?" Dinadan asked.

"The guy's knowledge of mythical and folklorish creatures is encyclopedic," Galihoden replied.

"Why the hell didn't he come with _us_ then?" Dinadan asked.

"Probably figured you had it a bit more together than this," Galihoden replied. "Get moving."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going," Dinadan said, heading off and grumbling.

KAK

Dinadan blinked blankly at Lancelot, who looked sour and unimpressed. "Are you serious right now? Sunlight, music, and pressure on their feet? More specifically, _music_? Why did you not tell me this before, so I could have tried to recruit Lamorak?!"

Lancelot shifted. "I didn't think about it, okay?" he replied slightly sheepishly. Tristan sighed and rose. "Where are you going?" Lancelot asked.

"Lamorak isn't the only one in the school who can play music," Tristan replied. He looked to Dinadan. "I have a small harp on me. I'm good at it. Really, really good. I'll go with you and Galihoden."

"Take a torch too," Kay said, holding one out to them.

Dinadan took it, looking put out. "Fine. Let's go and get this over with," he said. He headed off with Tristan and soon returned to Galihoden.

"Why is Tristan here?" Galihoden asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because unless you have a hidden musical talent, you're gonna be useless getting us through the throngs and into audience with the goblin king," Dinadan said.

"Why didn't we bring Lamorak if music is a weakness?" Galihoden asked.

"Because Lancelot's incompetent and didn't think about it?" Dinadan replied. Galihoden frowned at him. "Tristan's good with a harp. It might suffice for this." He turned to Tristan. "Well, what are you waiting for? Dazzle us with your music."

Tristan frowned at him then rose and began to strum the harp soft and gentle. The manically moving goblins stopped, growling and looking back warily. Tristan came out from behind the rock. Dinadan followed with the torch and Galihoden. Tristan advanced, not saying a word. Neither did they. The goblins roared and ran at them. Dinadan lifted the torch higher, Tristan played louder, and they slowed, hissing and spitting and gnashing their teeth at the three. Nonetheless, they didn't step into the circle of light from the torch, and covered their ears in dismay, stating to writhe, as the harp music grew louder. The goblin king looked outraged at the intrusion.

"Goblin king, we would seek audience with you," Galihoden said, stopping a safe distance away with Dinadan and Tristan.

"You foolish humans dare intrude on my domain?!" the enraged goblin demanded. "Cut off that accursed music!"

"We will. When you agree to hear us," Galihoden replied.

"I'll rip you to shreds!" he goblin roared, covering his ears.

"Then _you_ won't get yourself treated by a totally hot goblin queen seeking an eligible goblin king," Dinadan said. Galihoden gave him a disgusted look but didn't comment on his terminology.

"What?!" the goblin roared.

"Goblin queen, crème de la crop, seeking goblin king, big, disgusting, and powerful," Dinadan said.

"To reiterate, not long passed, this young man went and sought for Merlin a satchel belonging to the wizard. It had been stolen away by a goblin hoard. This young man tracked the goblins into a mountain, and he and his associates came upon a sight indeed. A great, cavernous maw, and within it a tall imposing throne upon which was seated a queen of goblins so mighty and daunting it made them tremble for fear. Her hoards seized them and dragged them down as prisoners, and in exchange for their release, she made them vow to find her a goblin king with whom she could mate, and who could impress her as much as, if not more than, this mortal she took into her bed did," Galihoden said. Dinadan flushed deeply and slightly ashamedly. Tristan raised an eyebrow at him but didn't speak.

The goblin king was quiet. Suddenly he began to chortle, then full out laugh, bending backwards and cackling like mad. "Human, if you endured her mating without death or mutilation, all my respect to you!" he said. Dinadan winced, shifting a bit uncomfortably. The goblin king finished laughing, wiping his eyes. "If she took a motal to bed and he yet came out alive, she isn't worth her weight in gold," he said.

Tristan started. What? Dinadan shifted. "The wizard Merlin's spell protected me," he spoke up, frowning. "Trust me, if it hadn't I wouldn't be here right now. At all. She's well worth her weight in gold. Just… come on, try her out and see whether she's a match for you."

"Mmm… Where does she rule?" the goblin king asked.

"The mountainous region around the kingdom of Far Far Away," Galihoden answered.

"Of what?" the goblin king asked flatly. A goblin approached and whispered to him. "Oh? Oh… I see… Why the name change? No matter. Hmm, suddenly she has become much more intriguing… I have heard of _that_ goblin clan." They were powerful among goblins indeed. He'd long been curious about their ruler.

"We came here to bring you her message, that she seeks a mate to become her king and to whose goblin nation she can join her own. Think of it. From Worcestershire clear across to Far Far Away? Imagine the size of your kingdom then," Galihoden continued to prod. "And the power, and the reach."

The goblin king sat quiet, scratching his bloated belly and shaking his jowels as he considered this. "Your message… intrigues me. Perhaps I will seek her after all. And to show you my good will, I won't even make you suffer before you are butchered for food at our feast."

Tristan's playing faltered slightly before he quickly picked it back up again, louder this time. The goblin king hissed, covering his ears. "No one's being anyone's dinner today, ugly," Dinadan said, backing uneasily away with Galihoden and Tristan. The torch light was waning. They had to get out before it totally vanished.

"If this light goes out, we need to protect Tristan," Galihoden said. "They'll try to come at us, but the music should keep them away. Just, whoever manages to ignore the song long enough to pull off an attack will be trying to attack _him_."

"How can we protect him when we won't even see him?" Dinadan hissed.

"Just keep moving. Turn around, walk fast, don't look back," Tristan said. "We should be…" Just then there was a wind from a crack somewhere in the cave close by, and the torch was snuffed out. There was silence.

"Fine?" Dinadan finished with a scowl.

"Run," Galihoden said.

KAK

Tristan began to frantically and loudly play as they three raced through the pitch black trying to find their way to the others, Dinadan and Galihoden holding onto Tristan's garments so they wouldn't be separated. The goblins screeched and cheered and tried to surge, but the music kept them at bay. "I can't see where we're going!" Dinadan said.

"Guys, guys, get a torch! We don't know where you are!" Galihoden shouted. It wan't long before a light lit up.

"There are more! Kill them!" the goblin king ordered. The goblins broke away from the three with the music to go after the group without.

"Shit! Run!" Dinadan shouted up at the others. The light began to fade as they did as was ordered and fled.

"This is all falling apart. They're going to lead them right to the others and we'll be cut off on all sides!" Tristan said.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Galihoden said. They manged to follow the moving figures in the dark up the right path, though, the music keeping them relatively safe, but Tristan was getting tired and it was getting quieter.

"Don't you dare stop playing you son of a bitch," Dinadan said. Tristan didn't respond, which wasn't reassuring. Galihoden cut down a goblin that tried to leap at Tristan to bring him down. Dinadan cut down another as they kept on. They saw the light again. Gawain, Bohort, Sagremore, and Brandelis.

"Guys, wait for us!" Galihoden called out. One did, probably Gawain, but the others kept running. Gawain's choice was to be safe in the light or die in the dark waiting, so he turned and ran after the torch. Galihoden cursed them under his breath. He wished he could say he was surprised. "We have the music you need to get out of this!" he angrily called after them. This time they paused, looking back hesitantly. They tried to take their chances and run again, but Gawain now held them back. Bohort didn't seem enthusiastic about leaving either so didn't put up much of a fight with him. Sagremore and Brandelis, though, were losing it at him. Finally Gawain just let them go while he and Bohort stayed put.

In short order, Galihoden, Dinadan, and Tristan reached Gawain and Bohort. "We need to keep moving," Tristan said.

"We'll lead them right to the others!" Bors argued.

"With the others we might stand a chance at least!" Galihoden replied.

"Lancelot, we've been made! Run!" Gawain shouted out loudly. He hoped Lancelot did so, but doubted he would.

"Seriously man?!" Dinadan demanded. They were their only hope here and Gawain was just telling them to ditch?!

"Keep coming towards us!" Lancelot shouted in response instead.

The goblins paused, looking startled and a little uneasy, but then began to speed up, racing towards these new voices quickly and ignoring their current targets in favor of going after these new ones who might not be so well defended. Gawain was pale. Oh no. "Let's go!" he said to the others, they all raced towards their allies, hoping to reach them in time. "Lancelot, they're coming for you! You have to run!" Gawain shouted again. Suddenly a wall of torches lit up. The goblins slid to a stop, screaming in pain and covering their eyes, scrambling back only to be caught in Bohort's torchlight too, leaving them writhing in anguish and clawing at their eyes and ears. More attempted to attack and leapt on Tristan, managing to grab the harp and in the process of trying to wrestle it away, breaking the strings. The music cut out. The boys cursed, scrambling behind the torch wall the others held in place, barely managing to pull away from the bloodthirsty little creatures.

"You broke the harp?!" Kay freaked.

"They did!" Tristan defended.

"Keep calm and back up," Lancelot ordered, waving his torch at a goblin that got close. The others quickly began to obey, hurrying to get out but not daring to leave the torchlight. They were starting to put distance between them and the goblins. The goblins hissed in anger, scrambling up the walls quickly.

"They're surrounding us. We've gotta get out fast! These torches won't last forever. Lancelot, Bleoberis, what do we do?!" a fearful Bohort desperately asked his big cousins, terrified. Lancelot was silent, lips pursed tightly. He didn't know… Bleoberis was grim and just pulled Bors close, keeping an arm tight around him.

"Din?" Brunor said, voice wavering fearfully as he backed up to be closer to his brother. Dinadan tensed and looked over at his sibling before pulling him nearer, frantically looking around. "Daniel's going to be all alone," Brunor said, voice sounding numb. Dinadan winced hard at that remark.

"There has to be a way out!" Bedivere freaked. "I have a sibling to go home to! And a cousin! I can't-I can't die here like this, goddamit!"

"This is your fault, Dinadan! _All_ your fault!" Kay shouted. He had a father and brother waiting for him at home… Oh god, this couldn't be happening now.

"I-I'm sorry," Dinadan said, voice eerily quiet and small.

"We're going to die," Sagremore numbly said, pale.

"Wait, there!" Brunor said suddenly, pointing at something the rest of them couldn't see. They squinted and started. It was another cave branching off this one! "It might be our only chance. Let's go!" No one argued, just turned and bolted down it.

"Price went up, Dinadan. You owe us five-hundred more gold each," Galihoden bitterly shot.

"Sorry, deal sealed and done," Dinadan replied.

"Flip you man," Brandelis said.

"Where's de exit?" Bleoberis exclaimed, noticing the fast dying torches and hearing the shrieking goblins tearing after them.

"Better question is, _is_ there an exit!" Brunor replied nervously. The others kept grimly silent.


	14. Fractured

Fractured

Arthur sat in the library, reading through a book with a worried frown. "What are you reading?" a voice asked curiously. He started and looked over quickly. He relaxed on seeing who it was, though. Daniel.

"Oh, hey," he said, a bit surprised Daniel was the one to initiate conversation. He almost _never_ did. Maybe it was because he'd reached out first? Huh, go figure. Reaching out to people might get them to reach out too. Who'd have thunk it? "Uh, it's just… a book. On goblins."

"Goblins? That's… a specific topic," Daniel said. He glanced at the seat next to Arthur, looked like he wanted to ask something, then shied away from it.

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Uh, you can sit you know," he said.

Daniel blushed a bit. "Thanks," he sheepishly replied, tentatively sitting like he wasn't sure even still if Arthur was serious or if he was welcome. "S-so why goblins?"

"Sir Villiars' lesson today was on them. Then later I went to see Pellinore to arrange a meeting with him for Sir Ector, but then Morholt came in and said something about a stray goblin being unusually close to the school. I… I think they were worried about it. So now there's a goblin threat and Pellinore said some kind of disturbing things and I just, I don't know, wanted to get a feel for what we're dealing with."

"Oh… Are you worried about an attack?" Daniel asked.

"I don't know. But I know that if there _is_ one, I'm totally unprepared for it. How even do you fight goblins?" Arthur asked.

"It might be in the book," Daniel suggested, tapping it.

"Even if it is. I can't fight, Dan. Not well. I won't stand a chance," Arthur said.

"Well… don't you like, live with Sir Ector? He could teach you some moves and help you. Maybe you could even get a private tutor?" Daniel said.

"I guess that's my best bet. I'm not going to Ector though. I can't confess to my foster father, and Combat teacher, that I can't do combat," Arthur said flatly.

"You're passing, aren't you?" Daniel asked.

"Barely. Ector tries, but he kind of gets frustrated, and then I just… I don't know. I don't want to let him down, so I try to overcompensate and then it just makes everything worse and… Yeah, I'm not dealing with it. But there might be _someone_ ," Arthur said, thinking. Prince Charming could help, right? The guy owed him anyway.

"Might want to start there for lessons on how to fight them then," Daniel said.

"Yeah. Yeah, I will. Good idea. Thanks," Arthur said, shutting the book. "Here, I'm done reading this for now. See you around."

"Bye," Daniel said, opening the book and starting to read it.

Arthur paused, looking back. "Where are your bros, by the way? I haven't seen Dinadan for a while and the jousting team kind of disappeared, so Breunor's gone too."

"I don't know. They don't tell me anything," Daniel replied. Because they forgot about him most of the time, he inwardly added.

"Oh. Okay. Hope Din's alright," Arthur said.

Daniel frowned, looking at Arthur in some measure of concern. "You think he's in trouble?" he asked.

"Well no, probably not, just it's weird he and the jousting team would all disappear around the same time," Arthur replied. "It's probably nothing. Bye."

"Bye," Daniel replied as Arthur left. He frowned in concern and turned back to the book uneasily. Great. Now _he_ was worried. They were probably okay, he told himself. What kind of trouble could they possibly get into anyway? This place was sort of dull.

KAK

The jousting team and Dinadan raced through the cave. The howling and shrieking and snarling and spitting of the goblins could be heard right on their heels. They didn't try to talk to one another or shout to one another, it would just distract them from their flight. This cave wasn't exactly even terrain. Any slip up could cost them their lives. Lancelot, in the lead, caught sight of another little cavern opening. "There!" he shouted.

"That had so better be an exit!" Brandelis said.

Bleoberis looked up and started, eyes wide. "Dey're tryin' ta cave it in!" he said, pointing. He'd guess that was the exit, given the determination of the goblins to seal it up.

"We have to hurry!" Bors cried out. They reached it and charged inside single file, because that was all they could do. Just then the rocks the goblins were pushing gave way and tumbled down before all of them were there, heading right for Brunor!

Dinadan gasped, paling. "Brunor!" he shouted, throwing on a burst of speed and checking his little brother into the mouth of the cavern.

Brunor yelped in pain and rolled over quickly, pale. "Din!" he shouted in terror, realizing quick what was about to happen. Dinadan quickly hunched down, covering his head and gritting his teeth. Suddenly he was seized and gasped, feeling himself yanked back out of the way of the rocks. They quickly buried the opening.

Dinadan blinked, trying to register he was still alive, then looked up at his savior and started. " _Tristan_?" he blurted in shock.

"Get up and get ready to fight for your life," Tristan ordered.

"Oh great. Instead of dying quick and painlessly, I get to die slow and in agony!" Dinadan shot.

"Suicide pact," Tristan flatly said.

Dinadan frowned then grimaced. That was probably their best hope, actually. "I'll penetrate you with my sword, you penetrate me with yours?" he dryly joked.

Tristan gave him a look, trying to determine if he'd meant for that to sound, uh, depraved, or not. The cheeky smirk he gave told Tristan that yes, yes he had. He narrowed his eyes, unimpressed. Why had he expected anything different? Look who he was talking to. "No one's penetrating anyone with anybody's sword," he flatly replied. Dinadan grinned wickedly at him.

"Din! Dinadan, please, no!" Brunor was heard frantically shouting from the other side of the rocks,

Dinadan immediately sobered. "Keep running, Brunor! Don't stop! We found another way out, we'll be okay, just go!" he called, turning to the pileup.

"We?! Who else is…?" Brunor asked.

"Tristan!" Gawain suddenly exclaimed in alarm.

"I'll take care of him!" Tristan shouted through the rocks.

"Yes, yes you will," Dinadan said, grinning impishly.

"Words are only words, Dinadan. I didn't _promise_ I'd keep you alive," Tristan threatened, glaring.

"I'm not leaving you, Dinadan!" Brunor called through the blockage.

"Go, little brother. I can't focus on this when I'm worrying about you too. I'll see you soon!" Dinadan called.

"No!" Brunor said. "Hey, hey, let me go! Bleoberis, put me down! Dinadan! Dinadan damn you, you'd better come back you jerk! You'd better come back. Don't make me tell Daniel you won't!"

His protesting shouts faded as Tristan and Dinadan began to fight the goblins who'd blocked them out and were now trying to take them down. They had no harp, they had no torch, about the only thing in their favor was an opening in the cave roof that let in sunlight, and other than that, they were defenseless. It would have been pitch black here if not for that opening. Its presence told them they weren't far from the surface, and that was something of a saving grace, but they were still trapped, and the goblin hoards were piling in. Dinadan and Tristan urgently looked around for a getaway as they finished off the ones currently attacking them. "Din, there!" Tristan suddenly said, pointing up.

Dinadan looked and gasped. Another cavern entrance! "Let's go! We're more likely to make it out alive exploring an unknown cave, than we are if those things catch us," Dinadan said, immediately starting to climb. Tristan followed quickly. The goblin hoarde reached the area and began to climb up after them much faster than they were moving, but Tristan hung back and kept knocking them down or slashing at them with his weapon. Some shrieked in pain, falling off the rocks. It bought them some time, at least. More specifically, it bought Dinadan some time. He himself wouldn't have too large of a headstart. He fought back another line of them then climbed after the other, who'd already made it to the top and who was likely half way down the tunnel they were aiming for by now. After all, why would he bother to…?

"Come on!" Dinadan's voice called. Tristan looked up and saw Dinadan offering a hand. He blinked in surprise but didn't question it. He climbed a little more then reached up, grabbing the hand. Dinadan hauled him up and they raced down the tunnel. Tristan was quiet. "Surprised I didn't leave?" Dinadan teased. Tristan gave him a look but didn't answer. "Oh my gosh, you really are," he said, snickering.

"People don't wait for me, Dinadan. People don't come back for me. I'm not important enough to anyone that they would," Tristan said flatly. Dinadan's step faltered and he frowned, puzzled at this remark. Tristan continued walking like he hadn't just said that. Dindan blinked then shifted a bit uncomfortably, grimacing. He hurried to catch up. "They're not following us into this cave… They're just hovering there, but they're not coming into it. That can't be a good sign. Maybe we were better off facing _them_ ," Tristan remarked. If something about this particular tunnel had the goblins unnerved? He wasn't looking forward to facing what that something was.

"Guess we'll soon find out," Dinadan replied.

KAK

The jousting team moved silently and grimly through the cavern. Losing Tristan and Dinadan? It didn't bode well for them. Breunor was taking it hard. "Hey, no gettin' weepy. Tristan's gonna keeps him alive," Bleoberis said gruffly

"Tristan hates him, and he hates Tristan," Breunor flatly replied.

"Tristan is honorable. Whether he likes him or not doesn't matter. He'll keep him breathing," Gawain assured, backing Bleoberis. Breunor was quiet, still visibly upset.

The torch light had begun to dim. As they went deeper into the cave, they could hear unsettling sounds. Like something was creeping around in the growing darkness. When the torches got dimmer, the creeping got closer, and they realized with chills that there was definitely something out there; and music probably wasn't going to soothe whatever it was, so the torches were the only defense they had. They kept close to one another. Bleoberis and Lancelot protectively herded Bors into the middle of the group. "Whatever is in here with us, it's getting too close for comfort," Brandelis said.

"There might be a way to lose it. Was there an underground lake or river in the goblin's grand hall? If there was, it might cross through this tunnel, and if it does, then swimming across it might get whatever thing is stalking us off our backs," Kay said.

"Not that we saw," Galihoden replied. "There was a ledge, but it was a tossup whether it led to a rocky pit or a stream."

"Prob'ly's a kinder death ta jump," Bleoberis grimly said.

"Lancelot, Bleoberis?" Bohort nervously said, seeing the torches starting to flicker badly. The outlines of multiple creatures, large and eight-legged, began to creep close to the borders of the dying light. Spiders! Giant ones! Brandelis screamed, full out screamed, leaping back in terror and totally losing all functionality. The rest of them stopped dead in their tracks, eyes wide in horror and mouths agape. One of the torches went out, thankfully one closer to the middle rather than one around the edges of their little circle, and dread began to take them as the spiders got more daring and began creeping closer still.

"Is this it? Is this how we die?" Brunor tightly asked. Maybe Dinadan and Tristan _had_ been better off. The others drew their swords, say for the shaking Brandelis. The spiders began to advance, mandibles clicking, and Brandelis dropped, curling into a fetal position.

"Arachnephobia? Seriously?" Galihoden said to him in alarm. They needed to be battle ready. One of them catatonic and shaking wasn't going to cut it! All at once a bright light lit up the whole of the cave, and the spiders reared up in anguish, scrambling over themselves to escape back into darkness. The boys gasped, looking over quickly. Galloping in on horses through a branching tunnel, swords drawn, were…

"Elves," Lancelot said, eyes widening in shock. "Run!"

"Wait, wh…?" Brandelis began.

"Run!" Lancelot ordered again, turning and booking it. Startled, the others followed quickly, racing away from the riding fae. Gawain pulled Brandlis up and dragged him with him.

"Why are we running?!" Gawain demanded.

"Because when all's said and done, we're better off with the spiders or even the goblins. _Them_ we can predict!" Lancelot replied.

"Yeah. Prediction's death. I'll take my chances with the elves," Sagremore said.

"You won't have to. There's a forking path. Let's go!" Lancelot said, spotting said path. They all darted down it and looked back only once. They watched in shock as the elves ran down the spiders and slaughtered every single one that was in their path and couldn't get away. It was only moments before every single straggler left was dead, and the elves began to wander in silence like nothing had happened, looking for something. The knights-in-training all breathed sighs of relief, pulling out of sight again.

"Now what?" Kay asked.

"They'll be coming back the way they entered, probably. We should go up this path and hope it leads somewhere," Gawain said, looking up it.

"Or maybe _this_ is this way they'll ride," Kay argued.

"It's possible they'll start looking for us, yeah," Lancelot said, grimacing. They couldn't have missed the humans who had been in the midst of the spiders. Bohort swallowed nervously, not liking the sound of that. "We need to move. Now. It won't be long before they search this way if they're hunting for us. Onward." He started through the tunnel. The others grimaced and quietly followed him.

"Lance, what does it mean that the elves are here? In this cave?" Gawain asked.

Lancelot was quiet. "It means... It means outside is a part of the forest we should _not_ be in," he finally, and cryptically, replied.

"A faery realm?" Gawain asked uneasily. Lancelot nodded gravely.

KAK

It wasn't long before the jousting team found themselves looking up at a hole in the cave roof. Sunlight was clearly seen. "Well, there's our exit," Bedivere said. "Anybody else bring rope?" No one spoke. They looked around. This was a dead end. Up was the only way out unless they went back. Bedivere grimaced and judged the situation. "If me or Bleoberis could lift someone up there…" he began.

Bleoberis grunted and grabbed Bohort, who gasped in surprise. He lifted him up. "Hey!" Bohort protested. What was going on?

"Get him onto your shoulders," Bedivere ordered. Bleoberis did so. "Figure out if you can make it like this, Bors," Bedivere said.

Bors, confused, quickly caught on, eyes lighting up in understanding. He nodded and looked up, judging the height. "Okay, I need a support," he said. Both Bedivere and Kay approached and offered their hands. Bohort used them for balance and tentatively, carefully, began to stand up. Bleoberis staggered slighty, but got his balance back and reached up, supporting Bohort's legs. Standing now, Bohort eyed the jump and leapt, seizing some low-hanging roots sticking out of the ground.

"Yes," Brunor said, clenching his fist. Bors grimaced and began to try and climb them. He stopped after a moment, looking down, and winced. He gritted his teeth and kept spidering his way upwards until finally he rolled out of the hole and looked back.

"I made it! Now at least we know it's possible," he said. "I'm going to try and find something to help you."

"I'm going next," Sagremore said, going to Bleoberis. "Down big guy."

"Screw yaself," Bleoberis replied.

"Just do it," Lancelot said. "The sooner we're out the better. We don't have time to argue over who goes next."

Bleoberis frowned and grumbled, ducking again. Sagremore climbed on and Bleoberis rose. Bedivere and Kay helped support Sagremore. Sagremore leapt up, grabbing the same low-hanging roots and clambering out. He reached the top with a smile, looking around, and went to help Bohort find some vines or ropes or something.

Bleoberis grunted then suddenly picked up Gawain, who yelped. He cried out as Bleoberis tossed him into the air. He seized some roots in the walls, clinging to them in shock, and looked down in disbelief. "Climb ya scrawny little pest!" Bleoberis called up to him. Gawain blinked then grimaced, looking up and carefully starting to climb. "Who's next?" Bleoberis said.

"You can't get anyone else up as easy as you have so far. Except maybe Brandelis and Galihoden, if you're lucky. You need a different meth…" Brunor said. He gave a surprised cry as he was lifted onto Bleoberis's shoulders. "The hell man?!"

"Human pyramid maybe? Might work," Galihoden suggested.

"Whatsa pyramid?" Bleoberis said. "I was just gonna get him ta jump."

"A pyramid is something that's a much smarter idea than the one you have going on," Brandelis said.

"Screw it," Bleoberis said, shoving Brunor upwards. Brunor cried out in surprise, but recovered fast enough to jump off Bleoberis's hands and grab the roots. He scowled down at his friend and began to climb, grumbling.

"You're gonna hurt yourself, Bleoberis. Stop," Bedivere firmly said. Bleoberis scoffed and went to grab him next. Bedivere moved back. "Stop!" he repeated. "Seriously, you're gonna do some damaged to your body if you keep this up. We're not all that light!"

"Gonna get more damaged by de dirty elves if I doesn't gets ya out," Bleoberis said.

"We don't know that! There are other ways," Kay argued.

"Like what?" Bleoberis asked.

"Hey Brunor, Bors, Sagremore, Gawain, find any vines or roots or anything up there to help us out with?!" Brandelis called out. There was no response. The remainder of the jousting team exchanged looks. "Uh, Brunor, Bohort?!" Brandelis called up again. No response. Concern began to wash through them, and they all began to shift. Suddenly a rope was lowered and they visibly relaxed.

"Phew. It's about damn time! Let's get out of this hole," Galihoden said, seizing the rope and starting to climb. Brandelis followed him, then Bedivere, then Kay, then Lancelot, then Bleoberis.

They looked aroud, as the last of them exited. Lancelot immediately caught his breath. "Oh no," he said. They looked in the direction he was looking and gasped. There they saw a terrified looking Bors, Brunor, Gawain, and Sagremore on their knees with hands behind their heads and swords at their backs. Bandits!

KAK

There was a beat as the jocks registered what they were seeing. "Let me guess. Run?" Kay finally, grimly, asked, breaking the silence.

Lancelot looked over at him, blinking in disbelief. "Run? Are you serious?!" he demanded. His head snapped back around to his cousin and Gawain. Sagremore and Brunor were inconsequential, but Bohort and Gawain? Not so much.

"You freaks betta give back our cuz else heads is gonna be rolled," Bleobreris said, pounding his meaty fist into his meaty hand.

"Try it. We dare you," a bandit replied.

"Give me back my men!" Lancelot snapped at the bandits. They began to laugh. Lancelot started. His eyes narrowed darkly. "I said give them back!" he insisted.

"Keep de udda punks. Just hand over de youngest and we'll beats it," Bleoberis said, focused entirely on getting Bohort back with them safe and sound. Screw the other three.

"And the skinny one with the ponytail," Brandelis threw in a bit more nervously. "Or hey, one of four's at least something, so whatever suits you best."

"Screw you guys!" Sagremore shot.

"Nuh uh, I'm not going one for four," Lancelot said. "I want them all! You give 'em here or we take 'em."

"Kill…" the leader of the bandits began.

"We'll pay you!" Bedivere blurted out. "Eveything we have."

"We'll what?!" Brandelis replied. "Are you kidding? You honestly think they're worth _that_ much?"

"These are four lives, man! Dead is dead here, this isn't some training exercise!" Bedivere shouted.

"Yeah, so let's book it before _we're_ taken prisoner too. If they were dumb enough to get caught, they deserve this!" Kay argued.

The bandits watched on in disbelief. Were they seriously hearing this? Not even _they_ were that willing to throw each other to the dogs. Gawain, noting the distraction of the bandits, suddenly acted, swiftly getting out of his compromising position, drawing his sword and stabbing the leg of the guy who'd been holding him. The bandit screamed in pain. Gawain disarmed him then stabbed the one holding Bohort three times in the side. That one collapsed in anguish with a cry, holding his wounds. "Hervise!" one of the others exclaimed in alarm.

Gawain turned and threw the knife he'd used to stab this 'Hervise', at the guy holding Brunor, given said guy was about to kill him as an example. The guy cried out in pain. Brunor disarmed him and lunged, slashing the one holding Sagremore. Sagremore pulled away and the four booked it back to the others.

"Run!" Gawain shouted at them. And they most definitely ran. They raced through the woods in terror, fleeing from the bandits now riding them down in rage. Suddenly the ground seemed to give way under them and they all went tumbling down a hill. They cried out in fear, falling and toppling head over heels over one another. They came to a stop, gasping, then tried to scramble up but kept getting entangled in one another and cursing one another out. The bandits came after them relentlessly, quickly surrounded them, and wasted no time in disarming them all, which wasn't hard given they were practically disarming each other in their scrapping over who got to get up first. Needless to say, the bandits were less than impressed, and when the jousting team realized they's just been thoroughly humiliated by a bandit group with as many members as there were jocks right now - at least in the immediate area - they were disgusted with _themselves_.

 _Meanwhile…_

"Don't come up! Don't come up!" Dinadan, who had been the first to dare exit the cave to explore their surroundings, shouted down to Tristan. Tristan watched in shock as Dinadan tried to escape back into the darkness but was seized and pulled away. Dinadan grabbed for whatever his fingers could latch onto, fighting not to be pulled from the cave mouth.

"Dinadan!" Tristan shouted, racing after the other. He managed to reach out and seize his hand. He tried to pull him back into the safety of the cave, but suddenly he was grabbed too and dragged out of the cavern with a shout! He broke away swiftly and went on the attack. He saw the creatures now. Elves! He slashed and stabbed at them. Taken aback and alarmed, they retreated swiftly before drawing their swords. Tristan grabbed Dinadan's arm, pulling him free of the faery creatures trying to take him away. Dinadan stumbled but regained his footing, drawing his own sword in terror. "Follow me!" Tristan ordered.

"What?!" Dinadan freaked. He didn't get to hear an answer, Tristan was already off. He booked it after him automatically, leaving the statled elves behind. That seemed far, far too easy, he noted to himself. Why should a group of elves be afraid of a couple mortals with swords? Tristan was good, yeah, but good enough to take on a group of elves? Or maybe it wasn't fear and just surprise? No point analyzing it, he guessed. He just knew they needed to get far, far away.

They ran steady for ten full minutes before they finally stopped to try and breathe, panting and sweating and exhausted. They lifted their heads, looking around, and Dinadan grimaced. "Well _we're_ lost," he said.

"You think that was necessary to say?" Tristan asked. "It's obvious we're lost."

"Well excuse me!" Dinadan snapped. He stood up straight, grimacing and cracking his back. "Wow I'm out of shape," he said.

Tristan looked around. "I hope the others got out," he said.

" _You_ hope? My brother's one of those others. Imagine how _I_ feel," Dinadan replied. "He looked around. "Perfect. Turned around in some elfin forest with no goddamn clue where to go, and the 'pleasure' of your presence."

"Do you have a problem with me?" Tristan demanded icily, glaring at him.

"Like you don't feel the same," Diandan replied, brushing him off.

"You're not surprised, it seems. Good," Tristan bit.

"Bite me Tristan! The hell is your issue with me anyway? Everytime I walk by you, you look like you want to spit at my feet," Dinadan said.

"And you don't? To say nothing of the rumors you spread about me!" Tristan replied.

"Tell me you aren't a living statue. Do it," Dinadan replied with a bitter smirk, folding his arms. Yeah that was one of the milder rumors he'd spread about Tristan, but that was beside the point! "After all, you have all the expression and personality of one," he pushed.

"I'm not a living statue," Tristan said, folding his arms as well and narrowing his eyes.

"BS. Let's just just try and set up camp or something while we still have a bit of day left. Obviously, we're not getting out of this forest before dark," Dinadan said, heading off. "Let's start looking."

"Rely on _you_ to help set up a camp?" Tristan asked with a snort of derision.

"Seriously, what the hell's your deal?" Dinadan demanded, turning around and stepping towards him angrily.

"I'm not trying to start a fight with you, Dinadan. The fact of the mater is you haven't taken a survival course lately, you haven't been out field questing or adventuring, and you have no experience with roughing it whatsoever. The only survival knowledge you care to remember is that to keep warm you should curl up with someone! And if you have _your_ way, do more than just cuddle," Tristan replied. Dinadan glared at him. He would not under any circumstances admit Tristan was right. He just settled with his glaring. "Just stay out my way. Keep watch or something. I'll get things set up. Gods, I can't believe we agreed to this."

"Yeah, well money talks," Dinadan said, walking off sulkily.

"And so do you. You talked yourself right into the bed of a goblin queen. If you hadn't pulled that moronic stunt, we wouldn't even be in this mess right now," Tristan said.

"Oh, you know what Tristan? Suck it! I did what I had to do to get me, Agravaine, and Lucan out alive!" Dinadan shot, turning around and marching quickly and angrily back, face flushed with anger.

"What you had to do, huh? The impression _I_ got from the story is that you _wanted_ it," Tristan replied.

"I wanted to get us out alive, I wanted to give Agravaine time to pull his spy crap, and I wanted to save Lucan from ending up skewered like a pig while still breathing!" Dinadan said.

"I was also under the impression she was quite the lay," Tristan said.

"You wanna know what it was like to lay the goblin queen, man? It was like sticking a hand into a bagfull of shattered glass, only it wasn't a _damn_ hand!" Dinadan snapped. Tristan started, looking shocked at this. "That's right, she pleasures through pain," Dinadan sneered. "She was a hell of a lay alright. Emphasis on hell! I didn't even know it was _possible_ to be in so much agony while org…" He cut off, willing himself to calm down.

Tristan was quiet, looking down at the ground in slight shame. "I knew there had to be a reason you were so reluctant to go back," he muttered half to himself and half to Dinadan.

Dinadan finally calmed down a bit. "Best time I'd ever had my ass," he muttered under his breath. "Never had so many moments of intense pleasure before, true enough, so it was great in _that_ regard… But with every high I hit there was anguish. Practically _felt_ myself being conditioned, so yeah, no, I _don't_ want to go back. Ever," he said. Tristan was quiet, looking away from him. It was probably best. If they kept this up, one or the other of them would end up dead. "Screw you," Dinadan said, turning and walking away to keep watch.

Tristan bowed his head, wincing a bit. With a sigh, he started to set up a small camp that hopefully wouldn't attract too much attention from the fae. He scouted out a place behind some rocks that should hide the fire's glow a bit at least, as well as give them shelter. He let Dinadan's words turn over in his head again and again.

KAK

Eventually Tristan and Dinadan were sat in front of a small fire in silence, Dinadan glaring into the flames and Tristan watching them quietly. "When you told the goblin king that Merlin's spell protected you…?" Tristan finally said.

Dinadan tensed up a bit, huddling in on himself. "I pay attention in alchemy class," he said. "Before we commenced to the love making, I asked her if I could make something with the ingredients she had laying around. Told her it was a way to enhance the experience… I lied. Made a potion and a balm, but they weren't meant to enhance crap all."

Tristan didn't press. He could infer what the potion and balm had been for. A pain killer and a protective coating, probably. "You couldn't think of another way?" he finally asked. "To distract her."

"No, Tristan, I couldn't. I'm a slut, remember? All I'm good for is whoring around! That's all I know how to do," Dinadan said.

"I never said that!" Tristan immediately defended. "That's what _you_ took from my refusing to let you help set up camp. It's not what I meant."

"What was that about my only survival knowledge being to keep warm by cuddling?" Dinadan bit.

"I didn't mean it like that! I just stated a fact," Tristan said. Thinking over the context of the conversation, though… He winced. Had he subconsciously meant to hurt Dinadan with that? Or maybe… maybe even a bit consciously...? Silence met his defense. "I didn't… mean to hurt you," he finally said. "I don't regret that I did, I'll admit that, but then I'm pretty sure you don't regret whenever you hurt me either."

"Just shut up and leave me alone," Dinadan said, laying down and closing his eyes, neither confirming or denying that. Tristan was quiet, watching him. Finally, he sighed, hanging his head. He stared into the fire quietly, keeping silent watch over his companion and himself, and hoping the others had gotten out.

 _Elsewhere_

The jocks were all bound together in the hideout of the bandits, forced into cages and onto their knees. "I can't believe you were going to sacrifice us!" Sagremore furiously shouted.

"One for all," Galihoden restorted. "Screw the all for one crap."

"You son of a bitch!" Sagremore shouted, and if he could have he would have went at him tooth and nail.

"We weren't going to leave you!" Lancelot replied.

"Speak for yourself, dipstick!" Brandelis shot. " _You_ might have had that idea, but no one else did. You probably woudn't have gone through with it even if they'd agreed with you besides."

"Yes I would have!" Lancelot replied.

"BS! Newsflash, Lance, but we could care less for you and you certainly could care less for us!" Brunor shot. "Why do we even _pretend_ to have any semblance of loyalty to one another, huh?! It's pointless, because there _is_ none! And if you fall, _I'm_ not stopping to pick you up. None of us are! Same goes for everyone else!" He turned to Bleoberis. "Thanks for your concern, you backstabbing bastard!"

"Blood'n water," Bleoberis replied flatly.

"Screw you!" Brunor shouted. That's what he got for daring to think he was friends with at least _that_ guy. He should have known better.

Lancelot whirled on them. "I wasn't going to leave any of you behind, get that though your thick skulls! And none of you would have either, got it? Not on my watch!"

"Damn you to hell Lancelot! You don't have any power over us anymore, dig?!" Galihoden shot. "You lost that power when you started getting your ass kicked by losers like Arthur! We knew you were getting soft when you took in your _bastard_ of a half-brother. We knew, and we still let you lord it over us becase hey, you still had power so why not?"

"Then that dipshit Arthur comes back and rolls over you like you weren't even there!" Brandelis backed.

"You start backing away from fights, you start getting trounced by his dork squad, you walk away from challenges, you let yourself get trampled by that pathetic, weak, son of a bitch, and you expected us to what? Just keep riding it out? Just keep watching as you got buried six feet under by some little worm that can barely pick up a javelin?! _Hell_ no! Did you honestly think any of us had any loyalty to you whatsoever? You were a badge of honor, man. Now you're a consolation prize!" Galihoden shot.

"He has _my_ loyalty," Gawain said, scowling at Brandelis and Galihoden as he rose to the defense of the visibly shaken Lancelot, who gave him a slightly desperate look before turning back to the others, cut to the quick. Not that he hadn't expected it, of course, because he'd more than expected it; he'd _known_ … Just hearing it out loud? It hurt…

"Your loyalty means shit!" Sagremore shot. "You rolled over for Arthur and let him feed you scraps, you dog!"

"What, you mean like Daniel did for you?!" Kay shot. Sagremore physically threw himelf at Kay's bars like he could just tear through them and rip the guy apart, but his restraints prevented him from going far.

"Bring up my brother in this conversation again, Kay, I dare you!" Brunor shouted.

"Daniel's a worm dangling from a hook," Kay sneered in defiance. "You want to put him at risk of me, Brunor?"

"You're dead when we get out of here you hear me? Dead!" Brunor shouted.

"Knock if off! We're not here to kill one another! We have to get back and get help for Dinadan and Tristan," Bohort, visibly distressed at all this, said.

"Screw dem both. Dey're deader den doornails by now," Bleoberis said. "Dem goblins ripped 'em apart and it weren't jus' Lancelot's fault!"

"Guess we know where _your_ loyalty is," Brandelis shot at him.

"Lancelot can crawl in a hole. All of yous punks can! Every man for himself now," Bleoberis shot.

"You're our cousin!" Bors shouted at him. "You're supposed to back Lancelot, not throw him away!"

"Lancelot's a failure like every udda cousin I gots!" Bleoberis snapped. Bohort looked like he'd been slapped. He-he'd thought Bleoberis liked him… Tears threatened his eyes.

"Damn you all to hell! Go on then, do your own thing! I'm taking Gawain and Bors, and we're getting out of here. Die of starvation in these flipping cages for all I care!" Lancelot roared, furious that Bleoberis had made Bors cry. "Anyone who wants to live, work with me!"

"Anyone who doesn't want to end up caught again, work with me!" Galihoden shot. "Lancelot couldn't find his way out of a paper bag let alone a bandit fort and unknown woods." Sagremore and Brandelis immediately took his side.

"Breunor, come on. We's gettin' out wit'out dem," Bleoberis called to Brunor. "I needs your smarts cause I don't got much for 'em."

"Screw you, backstabber!" Brunor snapped.

"It's me or dem!" Bleoberis shot, tossing his head at Kay and Bedivere, who were already plotting together. Well, would be if Kay wan't currently venting at his friend while Bedivere just went with it, nodding when appropriate and saying nothing otherwise. Brunor grimaced then huffed, nodding in reluctant agreement to Bleoberis.

Lancelot scowled at them then began to work at his chains. "Lancelot, slow down before you hurt yourself!" Gawain said in concern, noticing how vigorously Lance was wrestling with the shackles.

"Shut up! Just work on Bors!" Lanceot shot, turning on him. "I don't want your help or his or anyone's! Just-just leave me alone! Let me be alone, goddammit! Let me be alone!"

Gawain was still as Lancelot scowled. Turning away with a scoff, Lancelot continued trying to work on his chains. Bohort, mouth quivering, burst into tears, burying his head in his knees. Gawain looked at him. It hurt him to see… It had been a long time since Bohort had looked so much his age… Gawain swallowed over a lump in his throat and wormed over to the bars of Bohort's cell, stopping next to the preteen. Or maybe Bohort was thirteen now? He felt bad that he didn't know off hand. He nudged the younger boy gently with an arm, wishing he could pull him close and comfort him. Big brother instinct was screaming at him. Bors leaned against the bars, sniffing and shivering. Gawain gently nuzzled him through the bars, keeping close and softly comforting him as he cried. "Hey, we'll work this out. I promise," he said. But he didn't know if it was a promise he could keep...


	15. Captives

Captives

Arthur searched the school for Prince Charming. Charming had slipped out to join the guards in keeping watch just for something to do. Not because he had to, but because he was going mad sitting in a little room doing absolutely nothing like a prisoner. Arthur hadn't begrudged him it at all, but now that he needed him, he kind of did. Daniel had told him to go to someone to learn how to fight. As established, he didn't want to go to his foster father for that because reasons, so Charming it was. He caught sight of blond hair blowing in the wind and almost rolled his eyes before realizing his own was doing the same, so he couldn't really put the prince down for it or he was putting himself down too. He took a deep breath, going over his request—seriously, he'd rehearsed it so many times in his nervousness that it was like imprinted in his brain now—then approached the deposed prince.

"Uh, Charming?" he tentatively asked, sounding a bit insecure. Charming looked over at him warily, curious. "How-how great of fighters are goblins?" Arthur asked, pressing on.

"Goblins? What on earth are you asking after goblins for?" Charming asked.

"Just… curious, okay?" Arthur muttered.

Charming stared at him a moment, frowning suspiciously, then decided he really could care less. "They're disorganized, unpredictable, rarely use weapons… They're about the simplest enemy one can fight. Their strength, Arthur, comes from their numbers. Numbers overwhelm. There could be hundreds or even thousands of goblins to a den. They're expendable and so they tend to sacrifice themselves en mass for victory without even much a thought. They're primal like that," Charming said. "Why are you concerned?"

"I… Because I'm _not_ a great fighter," Arthur replied. Charming raised an eyebrow. Arthur seemed to know what he was doing, when Charming would on occasion observe him. "I mean I took out a dragon with a pitchfork, a wooden bucket on my head for a helmet, and its lid as a shield, but I relied on tricking it more than on skill then. And I mean I jousted with Pellinore and gave pretty good, but I was kind of working on desperation and I'm pretty sure he was already exhausted from two previous fights that emotionally and physically drained him, and…"

"Arthur, if you took on Pellinore and made it, even despite his exhaustion, you're good enough to take on goblin hoards," Charming bluntly said. Everybody who was anybody knew how great and skilled and mighty a knight King Pellinore was. Arthur was quiet, glancing away to the side a bit sheepishly. Charming frowned. Ugh, teenagers and their horrible communication skills. "If you want lessons, say so," he flatly said. It only got him closer to his own goal, after all. Arthur looked hopefully up. Charming gave a long-suffering sigh. "Very well. Come along then, your majesty."

Arthur beamed, following Charming towards the courtyard where they could train uninterrupted for a little while. "Alright! Puss was an okay teacher, but fencing is kind of a totally different bag to the style of fighting I know, plus he's a cat and has all those wicked cool feline moves no human can mimic and…"

"Ah, ah, ah, no rambling," Charming said, quickly losing patience.

"But…" Arthur began.

"Silence," Charming said. Arthur frowned. Charming drew his sword. "Now, let's begin. Have at me," he said. "A few good swings. Come on." Arthur hesitated a moment, but soon drew his sword, observed Charming, then began to swing at him. He got off five swings before Charming halted him. He stopped at the command. "Hmm… Your style is hard to pin. I would say you're quite a good balance."

"Really? Between speed and power like Palamides?" Arthur asked.

"You have a strong and swift swing, so perhaps in a sense yes," Charming replied. "Now duel with me." Arthur went at him quickly. Charming retaliated accordingly, reading his body language, observing his stances, observing his style, observing his motions, observing everything. "Halt!" he ordered after about five minutes. Arthur paused, panting.

"You have a good mix of finesse and beserker. In short, Arthur, you are a highly adaptable fighter, and that will serve you well ultimately, but you aren't very well-off stamina wise. You have quite some difficulty conserving your energy, it seems, which is a big weakness we'll need to work on. Stamina is pertinent, unless you can end an opponent swift and immediate every time. Can you?" Charming asked.

Arthur winced. "No," he admitted.

"Then we shall start with some energy conservation methods," Charming said. "Before that, though, do you favor a sword alone, duel wielding, sword and magic, sword and shield, or some other weapon entirely?"

"Huh? I-I never really thought… I mean most of the time I go for sword and shield," Arthur replied. "Swords are lighter and faster than a lot of other weapons, and a shield's always handy to have I think."

Charming nodded. "Good. Then I'll be among the more effective teachers you could have. I'm equally balanced between both one-handed and two-handed methods," he said. "Now, shall we?" Arthur nodded eagerly, eyes wide.

KAK

 _Breathe evenly, not panicked._

 _Parry and back away to get your bearings._

 _Go on the defensive and get some breathing room._

Those were some of the many tips Charming was giving for energy conservation. Among others like 'eat healthier', 'you need to exercise more', 'you need to practice more', etc. Arthur was pretty sure he was doing okay, though. Charming was correcting his stances, retraining him in some methods Puss had taught that wouldn't work for Arthur, showing him more advanced techniques and moves… Arthur was totally caught up in the lesson. He didn't notice two little boys slipping into the field and pausing to watch as Arthur and Charming duelled, swords clashing and spinning and thrusting and parrying.

One stood, hands behind his back and black bangs low as he watched in vague curiosity. The other watched in excitement, bouncing in place and clenchinig his fists together eagerly, blond curls bobbing. He grinned excitedly at the black haired one, who was still enraptured by the dance going on. They exchanged looks and crept into the bleachers to watch. Prince Charming suddenly pulled off an unexpected move, dropping low and kicking Arthur's feet out from under him. Arthur cried out, falling. Charming caught him quickly, before he hit the ground, and righted him.

"Your focus needs to be a little less on just one thing. Let your eyes take in everything. Your instinct is a good one. You can afford to take time to scan whatever your opponent is doing," Charming said to Arthur. Fervent clapping was heard from the bleachers and the two looked over, startled.

"Mordred? Loholt?" Arthur said in surprise. Loholt was the one clapping fervently. Mordred was giving his brother a look of disgust.

"It wasn't _that_ cool," Mordred said flatly. Loholt glared at him with a frown.

"H-how long have you two _been_ here?" Arthur asked.

"Five minutes?" Mordred replied, looking back. "What are you doing?"

"I'm learning?" Arthur borderline sarcastically replied, but he managed to hide the sarcasm well enough.

"Oh… Why?" Mordred asked.

Arthur blinked and looked at Charming, then back to the boys. "Uh… so I can fight goblins." Again Charming was tempted to question, but again he let it slide. There was obviously a reason Arthur was suddenly worried about fighting goblins, and it wasn't hard to guess at why, quite honestly. Though he did wish he had more detail so he could better prepare. He held off on asking for said details, though.

"Really? Cool! Can we learn? Please?" Loholt eagerly asked, leaping off the bleachers. Arthur winced, looking nervous. That was a big jump. He half expected Loholt to sprain or break something, but he didn't. Arthur relaxed a bit as his nephew raced over to him. Mordred followed a bit more slowly, but couldn't hide the hope and curiosity starting to reflect in his gaze.

"Um, I mean _I'm_ okay with it, but, uh…" Arthur began. He trailed off, looking to the prince. "Charming?" he asked.

Charming grimaced then sighed. "Very well," he relented. Loholt immediately went for a shortsword and shield, copying Arthur and beaming up at him. Arthur started then grinned at him. Mordred went for a sword alone. Arthur looked at him. "Just the sword?" he asked.

Mordred frowned then raised his hand, lighting up a little spell of unknown origin in it. "I use this too. Sometimes. But this is practice so not here. It might attack even if I don't want it to really attack."

"What is it?" Charming asked, immediately intrigued at the use of magic. Mumsy had… she used to encourage him to use it more often…

"It makes a phantom wolf appear and help me," Mordred replied. "Then I use destruction spells to help too."

"Facinating," Charming said. " _I_ know a little myself." Arthur looked at him a bit surprised at this.

Mordred perked up. "Really?" he asked.

"My… my mother was the fairy godmother," he said, nodding.

"Wow," Mordred said, eyes wide.

"I know magic too," Arthur sulked. Mordred's head whipped over, eyes wide. Arthur tensed. "Uh, mostly restoration," he said. Mordred tilted his head, not disappointed at the statement but more curious.

"Can we start now?" Loholt asked. "Please?"

"Of course. Let's begin," Charming said. "Show me what you can do on the training dummies."

KAK

The little boys were very good, Charming noted. He and Arthur had both initially observed them practicing on the dummies, but then Arthur had shifted and gone off to be a bit more hands on. Using his own knowledge, and some things he'd learned from Charming, he set to correcting them. 'Loosen your stance, Loholt', 'Don't let frustration start to blind you Mordred', 'Arm up a bit', 'Feet closer together'. Charming couldn't help the proud smile slipping across his lips as he watched. On realizing it was there, though, he quickly banished it.

"Arthur, back to work!" he called out. Arthur winced and turned sheepishly, returning to Charming. Charming looked to the boys. "Mordred, Loholt, pair up and duel one another. Keep in mind what you've learned so far," he said. They quickly moved to do so, excited. "Begin," Charming directed. Immediately the two little ones went at each other. He went at Arthur, who was taken aback at not being the one lunging. Arthur fell away swiftly and immediately began to retaliate as best he could. The boy was skilled, but Charming was still experienced enough to be able to take the time to scan over the children while holding off his pupil, and would so often call out direction or tips to the little ones or give other tips and direction to Arthur. "When I can no longer take the time to look around or talk, except when you go on the defensive, today's lesson will be over," he said to the teen. So Arthur focused on getting him to that point.

It took only about an hour for Charming to be focused mostly on Arthur and unable to do much scanning. In part due to his own fatigue in comparison to the teenager's seemingly boundless energy, and in part because Arthur was a very, very fast study when he wanted to be, and his skill was improving exponentially. Finally, Charming called a halt, tired out. Arthur was panting lightly, but still raring to go. Mordred and Loholt had been duelling on and off as their attention spans allowed. "Is that it?" Arthur asked, breathless.

"For now. Now practice with Mordred and Loholt until you become bored with it all. The lesson for today is done," Charming confirmed. "You've… done better than I could have expected. Well done, boy." Might as well throw that term in to push himself that much closer to a father-figure role. It seemed to do the trick, as Arthur lit up a bit. The teen grinned then turned, going to Mordred and Loholt and talking to them quietly. They both lit up, beaming, and went at him together, attacking as one while Arthur, laughing, fended them both off. Charming watched quietly, arms folded, observing the three. Loholt eventually tackled Arthur full on, knocking him back and crawling onto him as Arthur laughed. Mordred, getting caught up in the playtime, leapt on top of Arthur too and the two began to wrestle with him. Charming felt the smile spreading agan and banished it. Not that it was hard to. He was noticing something very… unsettling suddenly. And it was Loholt.

That boy… Charming fowned. He looked _remarkably_ like Arthur… Unsettlingly so... More than any of his brothers, with only Mordred as a rival in that regard. Lot of Orkney had brown hair. Morgause had black. Loholt was blonde. Gorlois, he believed, had been so too, hence Morgan's hair color, so he supposed it could have come from that, but… but Loholt looked nothing like either Lot or Morgause… Not even in the _slightest_ beyond traits Arthur shared with his sister. His resemblance to his uncle, whether Arthur was uncle through adoption or blood, was uncanny. And unsettling. Like… He quickly shook his head, denying that thought. No. That couldn't be. Arthur would have had to have been only twelve at best if it were so! Maybe thirteen. He watched them warily again… And suddenly that nagging thought wouldn't leave him alone… He should talk to Arthur about this at some point. He couldn't deny his curiosity for long. It was the fae in him.

 _Meanwhile..._

Tristan fought valiantly against one of the five creatures that had accosted he and Dinadan as they slept, his opponent a tall and regal elfin creature with a pointed crown upon his head, and a staff of oak. He knew already his resistance was futile. The elfin creature was only toying with him and looked, if anything, only vaguely annoyed. They should have taken up watches, Tristan realized in his panic. He lunged suddenly, blocking his opponent's next strike with his sword and pushing back, staggering the creature a little. It was the best he was going to get. He turned and fled, seizing Dinadan as he went. Dinadan who had been fighting the four other elfin beings that were presumably the crowned one's guards. They had been only toying as well. When their lord was staggered, the distraction was just enough.

The two of them fled through the forest frantically, trying to escape the pursuing fae. They'd woken up to thes five elves prodding them, had leapt into fight mode without thinking, and now just ran without asking questions. The elves mounted horses and began to ride them down, eyes narrowed and weapons at the ready. There wasn't going to be an escape this time, the two boys knew, but they kept running and running anyway, hoping to by some miracle get away. An arrow grazed Tristan's shoulder. Another grazed Dinadan's side. The effects of poison were felt almost immediately, and the two stumbled and staggered before collapsing, paralyzed. The elven folk approached them slowly, bound them, and took them without any words as they lay frozen and helpless…

So now they sat, tied tightly to a tree on the top of a bare hill—probably an elfin mound—utterly and completely helpless. They woke up alone, no elves in sight, and the fate that would be theirs was a totally mystery to them. They guessed it didn't matter in the end. They were screwed _whatever_ happened. There was silence that seemed to just drag on. They had nothing to say to one another. Whenever they talked it ended in argument. Tristan leaned his head back against the tree, looking up at the sky. He hoped the others found them… If they were still alright… Silence. Silence. Then… "Why do we act like we hate each other?" Tristan asked suddenly. "Have you ever wondered that?"

"Because I stand for everything you're against," Dinadan flatly answered. "What, we need more reason than that?"

Tristan was quiet. "I don't hate you," he soon said. "I never did. I'm annoyed by you, yes, but I don't hate you. Hate is a… strong, strong word."

"If you want to get technical about it all, hate's not exactly what I'd call my feelings towards you either," Dinadan said with a sigh. "You're just embarrassingy naïve."

"No, I'm not. _You're_ just jaded," Tristan bit.

"Whatever. How about we focus on, I don't know? Esacaping," Dinadan said. He began to try and wriggle free of the rope. Tristan did too. They tried for about an hour before they couldn't move their fingers anymore. It seemed that with every attempt they made to wriggle out of the ropes, they tightened more. Now both of their hands were numb. The ropes loosened on sensing no further struggle. They could try to get out again, they supposed, except it would probably just end the same way. Dinadan whispered a curse, less than pleased about this turn of events.

"There has to be a way to get out," Tristan mused aloud.

"Well think of it then! I'm out of ideas," Dinadan said. "The ropes tighten when we struggle and only loosen enough to let our circulation flow when we stop, so enlighten me, Tritan, on how to outtrick elven magic!" Tristan was quiet. "Yeah, I didn't think so," Dinadan said, scoffing. Silence again.

"The elf I fought... I think he was their king..." Tristan said.

"Well then we're doubly screwed," Dinadan said, grimacing. No one crossed the elf king and lived, if stories were to be believed.

"Or maybe we can bargain with him," Tristan replied.

"I learned my lesson with bargains," Dinaan said.

"We don't have to offer our bodies," Tristan said flatly.

"Then what do we offer, man?! All we _have_ is ourselves," Dinadan said. "We give up freedom or we give up honor. I'll givie up honor every time."

"One, odds are he wouldn't even consider a bargain like that. Two, offering yourself isn't always the solution, Dinadan!" Tristan replied.

"It's the guaranteed one," Dinadan said.

"You're wrong," Tristan said.

"And, like I said, you're naïve!" Dinadan replied.

"Like I said, _you're_ just jaded, and I don't know why the hell that is, but it is," Tristan replied. He didn't know why he'd never noticed that fact before either. Dinadan didn't really show it that often, maybe that was why. He was always so happy go-lucky, joking or teasing or flirting and having a good time… But what was shown to the public, wasn't always what was hidden beneath… Quiet once more reigned as Tristan tried to figure out his companion. "You're worth more than your body," he finally said.

"Oh, don't give me some BS pep talk," Dinadan said with a sneer. "What do you even care anyway?"

"Gods your frustrating," Tristan said. "And we don't have time to argue. We need to find a way out." He thought for a bit. "What if… if we don't struggle to free _ourselves_?"

"What do you…?" Dinadan began. He cut off, catching on. "Try to free one another," he realized. "That… that might actually _work_."

"Then let's go," Tristan said. "Stay still. I'll try to get you out. If you struggle to try and free me at the same time, the ropes will probably tighten on us both."

"Okay, just-just remember to take pauses to let your circulation run again," Dinadan said, sounding hopeful.

"Alright," Tristan replied. He went to work on the bonds, trying to loosen Dinadan's. His own, sure enough, began to tighten, so he slowed down a bit, though still picked at the ropes. He worked on them for an hour before he finally had to stop, frustrated and dismayed. He'd hardly even made a dent in the damn things! "I can't," he said. "I'm sorry… My idea was stupid. They're probably enchanted by some kind of elfin spell and I should have guessed as much."

"Your idea's the only one we have right now aside from bargaining," Dinadan said. "I'll try now for a bit."

"Dinadan…" Tristan began.

"Don't argue with me," Dinadan said. He began to fiddle with Tristan's ropes, focused wholly on them and getting them off. He tried for two hours before Tristan couldn't feel him trying anymore. Silence reigned. "To parody Palamides, alak we are undone," Dinadan eventually said. And those words would never be truer than they were right now, probably.

"We have until the setting sun to find a way to get free," Tristan replied. "Odds are the elves will be back at that time to fetch us. There's got to be a way. Come on. Giving up now isn't an option."

"Okay," Dinadan relented, and for hours more they struggled and strained, trying everything they could think of to get loose… And it wasn't enough…

KAK

When sunset fell, they had to stop and take a long pause, frustrated and angry and upset. "They haven't come. The elves," Tristan said after a while.

"Maybe our judgement is to be trapped here for eternity or left to die of starvation or thirst," Dinadan bitterly replied.

"I hope the others got away," Tristan said.

"If they did, they're not looking for us," Dinadan replied.

Tristan was quiet. He hated to admit it, but… but Dinadan was probably right… "They'll be looking for _you_ ," he quietly said. "Your brothers at least… No one will be looking for me…"

"My brothers? Hah. What do _they_ care?" Dinadan said.

"How can you even say that?" Tristan asked.

Dinadan was quiet. "When my father died, everything he owned was divided up among us. As the firstborn, I got the most. The entire mill and all its assets. Brunor got the donkeys that he was expected to try and make money off, and Daniel didn't even get that. It was probably the first sign of things changing… I love my brothers. More than anything else… But they don't love me… Not anymore... After dad died I don't know. I guess I just… stopped being big brother and became their meal ticket instead. Maybe they resented me for what I got, maybe they didn't. Guess it doesn't really matter either way anyway. All boils down to the same thing. I die, they get all the wealth I possess, they put on a show of mourning, they get rich… And I won't even mind it… Maybe part of me even _wants_ it…. I tried to become their provider, the guy that kept them alive when dad wasn't there anymore. What happened was I became their source of shame. Then I was just the one they went to whenever they wanted money. That's why you never see us hanging out or even talking to each other. That's why we never sit together in shared classes and they're usually on the other side of the room. Because I'm nothing to them," he soon said.

"Wow… I had no idea your self-view was so utterly and completely _skewered_ ," Tristan said.

"What, you presuminig to know me, Tris? Newsflash, you don't," Dinadan replied.

"And you're oblivious to everything that doesn't feed your own view-of-self!" Tristan shot. "And it's a sucky view-of-self. Just saying."

Dinadan scoffed. Quiet again. "What do you mean no one will be looking for you?" he finally asked after a moment. "And what did you mean earlier when you said people didn't come back for you because you weren't important enough for anyone to?"

Tristan let out a breath. "I have no family. I have no friends. I've always had only my own company to rely on, never anything more… I'm alone, Dinadan… No one will mourn my passing… But you _aren't_ alone, despite what you believe." Dinadan was quiet. "You are loved," he added quietly.

Dinadan let out a bark of laughter before sniffing, staring down at the ground. "Those were Miles' last words to me. Or something like them. You were loved…" he said.

Tristan was quiet. "Why did he say those words to you?" he asked after a moment.

Dinadan was quiet. He leaned his head back against the tree, staring at the skies above miserably. "Because I don't believe I am," he finally answered. Tristan stayed quiet. "It's part of the reason I make myself a whore, part of the reason I sleep around with anyone that gives me a once-over and who'll let me take them to bed. Because I'm never going to love or be loved… But I still want to feel _something_. I still want to feel like-like maybe, even if it's only for a moment, I'm cared about. Maybe this time will be different. Maybe next time. Maybe the time after that. Maybe someone will come to love me next time! …And they never do, and I'm never surprised, but for at least a moment I felt like I _mattered_ to someone. I don't even _believe_ in the notion of courtly love, I don't even plan to ever _take_ a lover, I just… I want to matter… I want to feel loved. I don't care what kind of love it is, I just… I want to be _precious_ to someone… Also, it's fun, but hey, that's beside the point." He tried to pass the last sentence off as lighthearted. He failed miserably.

Tristan was quiet, taking in the confession in silence. He looked up at the sky. "You are loved," he said again. "Even if you don't believe you are… They love you… Brunor's actions towards you, the way he curled into you for protecion, the way he shouted your name when you and I were cut off from the others… It wasn't because you're his piggybank, Dinadan… It's because you're his brother, and he loves you. If all Daniel and Brunor really wanted was your money, why haven't they just assassinated you by now?"

Dinadan was quiet. "Maybe you're right," he finally replied. "But it won't matter soon… I see them coming. The elves." Tristan let out a shaky breath, closing his eyes. "…Tris?"

"Hmm?" Tristan murmured.

"Someone… someone came back for you this time… I want you to take care of my brothers," he suddenly said, and Tristan's eyes slowly opened. What? Just then he felt the ropes fall from his wrists and gasped, pulling his hands away from the tree in shock, staring at them. He looked at the ropes, stunned, and felt suddenly ill at ease. They were frayed and covered in blood and skin, as if someone had picked them apart with nothing but their fingernails! Tristan looked back quickly in shock to Dinadan's hands. They were quivering, red and dripping with blood, raw almost to the bone. His eyes widened in slowly mounting horror as he realized the extent of the damage and how painful it had to be. No… No way… _Dinadan_? He looked at his companion, utterly stunned. "Go, Tristan! What are you waiting for? You can get away if you go now. Hurry!" Dinadan said. Tristan blinked. All at once he fell next to Dinadan and began cutting at the ropes with his sword, but the binds were unaffected. How the hell had Dinadan managed to pick his way through them then, dammit? It didn't make sense! Was it… oh god, was it because of the blood? His stomach churned at the thought. An elven _blood_ curse? But if that's what it took, then he would do it! "Tristan please, go! Don't throw your life away. Not for mine!" Dinadan frantically insisted as the elves approached rapidly.

"I'm not leaving," Tristan answered flatly and firmly. He looked at his hand and grimaced before placing his sword on it and cutting. He hissed in pain.

"Whoa! Whoa, what the hell are you doing?!" Dinadan demanded. Tristan quickly covered the ropes in the blood and began to cut at them again. This time they started to frey. It wasn't freying fast enough, dammit! He willed the blood to absorb faster, but it didn't. He cursed under his breath and rose swiftly, getting in front of Dinadan and brandishing his sword with a scowl, eyes narrowed at the galloping elves who were almost on top of them. As the Fair Folk approached, though, they slowed and came to a stop… To their forefront rode their king, seated upon an elk… He stopped on seeing the sight, Tristan with eyes flaming and sword held firmly in a bleeding hand, Dinadan looking horrified at what he was witnessing. The elf king paused, tilting his head curiously.

KAK

There was a tense silence between all parties. "Let him go," Tristan finally said. The elf king was quiet. "Let me cut him free, then you let him go. Whatever you planned to do to us, you don't need both me and him for it."

"Tristan, are you crazy?!" Dinadan exclaimed.

"You were the one whose idea it was to use ourselves as bargaining chips. The only difference now is that instead of both of us, or just you, now it's just me," Tristan replied. He looked back. "At the end of the day, you have people to go home to, Dinadan. I don't." Dinadan, lips parted, was quiet, utterly stunned.

The elves were quiet. Finally, though, the king spoke. "You would then give yourself a slave to me in exchange for his freedom?" he asked.

"I would give myself a slave to you," Tristan replied, turning back to them with eyes narrowed. "Just let me cut him free."

"Tris…" Dinadan began, pale.

"Your life is precious. Even to me," Tristan cut off. He looked at Dinadan again. "You matter… And I won't let you sacrifice yourself for my sake."

Dinadan was quiet, throat tightening. "You should have run, damn you!" he suddenly freaked, jerking agasint the bonds desperately and angrily. "You should have run! You should have…"

"I'm not leaving you behind," Tristan said. "It's not happening." He moved cautiously away from the elves, keeping his eyes on them, and knelt behind Dinadan, sawing at the ropes. This time they gave way easily. Dinadan moved to presumably throw himself at the elf king's feet and try and negate Tristan's offer, but Tristan caught him quickly and held him back, teeth gritted.

"If you're as alone as you claim, no one will search for you! But they'll search for _me_ ," Dinadan frantically tried to reason.

"And they'll never find you. Go home to your brothers, Dinadan," Tristan replied, keeping a calm head though it was proving more and more difficult. The elf king began to approach on his elk. "Stay back!" Tristan snapped sharply, pulling Dinadan up. He looked at the other. "Just go already!"

"I'm not leaving _you_ anymore than you left me!" Dinadan defiantly shot. The two glared daggers at each other, trying to stare one another down. Neither would be moved.

"Yours will become a friendship written of in legend," the king of the elfin folk suddenly said. They stiffened before looking over at him, visibly stunned at the declaration. Friendship? What friendship? The fae king looked utterly intrigued by what he was witnessing. "Mortals, I come not to make you slaves or do you harm." They blinked, staring at him in silence, and exchanged shocked and uncertain glances...

KAK

Dinadan watched as his raw and bloodied fingers were tended and bandaged in a hidden glen the elves had taken them to. He glanced over where Tristan's hand was being wrapped. He was still trying to process what had just happened. What Tristan had done. "What business had you and your companions in the goblin cave?" the elven king questioned them, standing near at hand. That was his first question. Simple and direct and perfectly reasonable. The temptation to be cocky was there, but they were smarter than that and so restrained themselves.

"We rode in the company of this young man, who paid us a handsome sum to accompany him to it," Tristan said, gesturing to Dinadan. "He had run afoul a goblin queen, and in exchange for his freedom and life, and the freedom and lives of those with him, he made her a bargain," Tristan continued.

"What was his bargain?" the elf king asked, again simple and plain.

"That he would send to her a goblin king to become her mate," Tristan replied, skipping out the embarrassing details. Dinadan might not want what he did with the queen boasted up more than it already had been.

"Word came to me of a goblin cave in a canyon, and so I rode to find it with them at my back as protection. The gobin king agreed to my terms but wouldn't let us free, planning instead to make us his feast. We tried to run, but we were cut off from one another. Tristan and I were forced to go another way. We got out, we set up camp, and the next morning we were found, chased, and kidnapped by you and yours," Dinadan explained. Tristan nudged him hard, scowling warningly. "I mean... borrowed?" Dinadan lamely covered. The elves looked less than impressed at the attempt at a coverup.

The elf king considered these words in silence, mulling them over. "Bring them food and drink and let them rest," he finally said. The two visibly relaxed at the unspoken forgiveness. "I want word brought of the mortals who were with them."

"Thank you, your majesty!" Dinadan blurted out, looking like the world had just been lifted off his shoulders. No doubt concern for his brother. The elf king nodded in acknowledgement.

 _Elsewhere..._

Hours of fruitless attempts at escaping the bandit fort later, night had fallen and the jousting team had given up trying to get away for the day. Most all of them had fallen into troubled sleeps at this point. Lancelot was the only one who hadn't. As far as he knew. As he listened to the bandits in another chamber comparing how much he and his teammates would fetch on the slave market—his bood boiled to hear how much Bohort, and those of them that could be considered 'beautiful to look at', might fetch comparatively—to how much they'd fetch if they simply loaned their captives out, he worked on trying to find a way to escape. Every time a guard came near, he made to try and pickpocket them for a key. When he wan't trying to pickpocket through the bars—it was probably for the best that that plan was failing, because pickpocketing was more Agravaine's thing and Lancelot absolutely sucked at it—he was trying to find something he could use to jimmy the lock... And it was all ultimately pointless.

Finally, he sat back gloomily with a frustrated sigh, staring at the door. He wasn't giving up, there was a way out and he knew there was, he just was... kind of out of ideas. He wondered if he could make a break for it when they came to take him out of the cage or bring food and or water. He wasn't exactly small in stature, and he could probably trounce any of them in a fight. The problem was the strength of bandits lay in their numbers, not their skill, and if you got a lot of skilled bandits, you were kind of screwed. Plus the first thing these guys had taken were their weapons, so he'd be stuck fisticuffs against multiple armed enemies who may or may not be skilled. There was no way of telling how many there were, or how talented they might be. If it came down to it, he would take his chances and just make a desperate break for it - slavery wasn't exactly one of his life goals - but it would be an absolutely last resort. Ugh, the sooner he could free the others, the sooner they could escape. He supposed he could just leave the lot of them to rot, except maybe Gawain, Bohort, and possibly Bleoberis if he decided to forgive the guy, but he wouldn't. They were his responsibility.

Just then one of the bandits entered the room and approached his cage. Said bandit checked the lock and tsked. "You've been busy, I see," he said. "Guess I shouldn't have expected anything less from an overachiever like you. Lancelot, Lancelot, how the mighty have fallen," he said… And he sounded eerily familiar…

Lancelot was quiet, staring at this bandit. There was something about him… He'd met him before. He _had_ to have, for him to sound this familiar, but he just couldn't place it. Maybe because of the helmet on the guy's head? While he was burning with curiosity about how this bandit knew his name, though, he decided not to show that hearing it spoken had shaken him… Just kidding. "Who the hell are you?" he testily asked after a moment's hesitation to react.

"Figures you wouldn't recognize me. I guess it could be the helmet, but it's probably more likely because you tend to conveniently forget the faces of the guys you've screwed over. I'd think it was guilt, if it was anyone but you," the bandit replied. He reached up, lifting off his helmet.

Lancelot had to think for a second before he could pin the face. When he did, his eyes slowly widened in disbelief. "Reynold?" he said in shock. The boy—and he _was_ a boy, about Lancelot's age in fact—smirked bitterly at him. Lancelot could only gape, stunned. Reynold had been a student at Worcestershire and a member of the jousting team until… Oh crap.

"Surprised you remembered my name," Reynold said, scoffing. "Been a couple years since last you saw me. But then that was your fault, wasn't it?"

Lancelot was quiet. "You joined bandits?" he finally, coldly, said.

"Given that was the only option I had left to me after you got me kicked out of school in your place, yeah. I joined bandits," Reynold said with a bite to his words. "And I'm loving every minute of you being locked up here. Who's on top now, Lance? Gods it feels good to see you the one suffering. Maybe I should play the framing game, huh? Get you scheduled in for a torture session or execution."

"Disproportionate retribution, don't you think?" Lancelot sneered at him.

"Oh, that's right, you never faced Pynchley's disciplinary rules, did you? Always got someone else to deal with it for you. Or framed someone else to," Reyold replied. "How is the guy anyway?"

"Pynchley was deposed by Pellinore and sent packing with all his worst loyalists and supporters. Pelliore selected his _own_ hand-picked staff to take over for them. His goal was cleaning up the school, trying to reverse the damage done by Pynchley. Noble but stupid. Scars don't heal that easy, obviously. If they did, I wouldn't be here being gloated to by _you_."

Reynold sneered at him and looked almost like he wanted to strike him, but refrained. "I love how you drop this to the level of a mere scar," he said. "This is still a wide-open wound even after all this time. Oh, you'll probably call me petty for it, but then you didn't go through that pain and humiliation and disgrace, did you? You were more than content to let _me_ take the fall, so I get why you'd be puzzled as to why after two or three years I still call it an open wound. Always the victimizer, never the victim."

"You don't know crap about me!" Lancelot shouted.

"And I don't care," Reynold said, brushing him off coldly. "See you around, Lance. You'll be here for a while."

He turned to go, Lancelot scowling darkly after him, but soon Lancelot grimaced and called, "Reynold, wait!" Reynold paused, looking back warily. "I want to talk to your bandit chief."

A pause. "Why?" Reynold suspiciously questioned.

"Because reasons," Lancelot sneered.

"Buh bye," Reynold said, turning to walk away.

"Because I have a bargain to try and strike with him!" Lancelot called quickly.

Reynold stopped, smirking victoriously to himself, and looked back. "Fine. I'll talk to him," he said. "But good luck bargaining. Better men than you have tried." He gave a wave and left. Lancelot glared after him then laid back with a sigh, staring at the ceiling. Great. Where did he go from _here_ now? Well, he guessed that at least he had his foot in the door at this point. He just had to improvise. And hope it was good enough…

KAK

He was retrieved from his cell by Reynold and another bandit. Another kid, it seemed. Probably Dinadan's age, maybe a bit older. They brought him into another part of the fort, bound, and shoved him to his knees at the feet of a man seated on a makeshift throne. Lancelot looked up at him darkly, glaring. The man gazed down at him quietly. "You wanted to bargain," he finally stated. It wasn't a question.

"Yeah. I did," Lanceot replied. "Who am I bargaining with?"

The man smirked in vague amusement. "You pry for information more politely than I'm used to," he admitted. "So politely I can't even bring myself to send you away as punishment for your curiosity." Lancelot bit back a smart-mouthed reply. "Good boy. Guarding your tongue. My name is Mador de la Porte. And who is the child who wants to try his hand at bargaining with a bandit chief?"

Lancelot was quiet. "Lancelot du Lac," he finally answered. Mador frowned slightly, the name obviously pricking a memory. The man couldn't pinpoint it, though, and for that Lancelot was relieved.

"Hmm… And what would you bargain?" he asked after a moment.

Lancelot was quiet, head hung. He hadn't honestly expected to get even this far, so he had no honest clue. "What do you even want with them, Sir Mador?" he asked finally.

"Sir, is it?" Mador said. "Boy, what do you think a bandit chief would want with this many children?"

Lancelot could almost _see_ the guy tense up at his own choice of words, and both Reynold and his friend facepalm. Lancelot chose not to take that golden opportunity to slam the man. Would probably get himself and his friends killed. "Additions, apparently," he bit instead, looking coldly over at Reynold and three other young men that were with him. The four boys of the group tensed up slightly. Lancelot regretted the still-snippy remark almost immediately, but didn't take it back.

Mador was quiet, glaring. He glanced over at the four youngest of his band, then back at Lancelot. After a moment he began to chuckle, a smile pulling at his lips. "I wouldn't protest if any cared to join, but no. It's not what I want from them. Guess again."

Lancelot glared. "Ransom," he finally answered. "But you'll get none. They're worthless to you. All of them. They aren't nobility, at least not important nobility. Most of them are orphans and no one's looking out for them." It was a blatant lie, at least for some of them, but he hoped it would pass. As luck would have it, it didn't.

"Lancelot… I remember that name now… The son of the deposed and murdered king, Ban of Benwick… And he had two brothers that I know of. Bors and Nestor, were they not? And between them all six sons, two boys each… I remember…" He looked at Reynold, who was glaring at Lancelot. "Am I correct?" he asked.

Reynold was quiet. Lancelot glared at him. "Yeah," Reynold finally said. "And two of them are right in your midst. You've got Bleoberis de Gannes, the oldest son of Prince Nestor, and you have Bohort de Gannes, aka Bors the Younger, the oldest son of King Bors."

"What other gems do I have in my possession?" Mador asked.

"Galihoden, the young Count of Honolan," Reynold answered without even hesitating. He'd never gotten along with the guy. Then again few did. Few bothered trying to.

"Anyone else?" Mador asked.

Reynold was quiet, looking down. Yes, he inwardly answered. Gawain. But he'd never had a reason to hate Gawain… He was a good person, compared to those he'd hung out with. A Lancelot yes-man often, perhaps, and regularly a mere follower who parroted Lance's insults, but the years had drawn him away from that role and by the time Reynold had been banished from the school, Gawain had been just starting to come into himself. In fact he'd actually tried to rise to his defense, and as he'd been leaving had come to him begging him to accept his help. Reynold had been too distraught and distracted to be reasoned with at that point, though, and had just gone…

"No," he finally answered. Lancelot let out a subtle sigh of relief.

Mador stared at him. "Do you know why I asked you, Reynold?" he asked. Reynold stayed quiet. "Because I trust you to tell me the simple truth," Mador pressed.

"And I did. You have no more gems," he answered. In reality, however, Gawain was the _biggest_ gem Mador had. Mador looked unconvinced, but didn't press. Instead he turned back to Lancelot.

"Even if some of them _are_ nobility, it doesn't matter. My father and his brothers were exiled from their kingdoms, driven out by King Claudas, who took everything from them… They have no power, anymore. Kings in title only. My cousins are worthless to you. Send them back. Keep just me, and I guarantee you, you'll get more than you ever could have otherwise. I'm like the most prized pupil _in_ that school, man. Hell, toss Galihoden back into the pond too. Honolan's a dump not worth keeping their count ransom for. Probably wouldn't even care about him, just figure out someone else to put in his place. It's that much of an outhouse. The only guy you have captured here that's worth a cent to you is _me_."

Reynold was now staring at him in shocked disbelief. Mador was quiet, glaring at him and trying to read him to determine how to react and what to do about this. "How pathetic. A leader who's willing to give up everything for his men, but whose men aren't willing to give up anything for _him_. You did something wrong somewhere along the lines Lance," Reynold finally spoke up.

"So sure they won't give you anything for me?" Lancelot bit. "Why do you think I wanted to bargain in private? I knew if I didn't, they'd step in."

"You're a liar. Gawain maybe, probably your cousins too because tough as Bleobeis likes to play it, you're still his blood. The others, though? Even back when _I_ was in school everyone knew the jousting team was a farse," Reynold said. "To them you're probably not worth thumbing their noses at."

"Whether you're right or not doesn't matter. This all plays out the same whatever you do. I'm gonna get out, solo or with them, and when I do I'm gonna slaughter every one of you jackasses!" Lancelot shot, pointing over all of them. "Your days are numbered. You're dead men! You're….!"

"Spewing useless threats now? Keep quiet, little boy. We have planning to do. Stay in there and stew until we figure out how to respond to your bargain," Mador bit tauntingly. "Throw him back in his cell. I have… things to discuss with my partners." Reynold came over to Lancelot with the boy who'd helped him before, seized the deposed prince, and together they dragged him back to the cells.

KAK

They entered the room and froze, gasping. Lancelot looked up and gasped right after them in shock. Galihoden, Sagremore, Brandelis, Brunor, Kay, and Bedivere all were gone! "What the hell?!" the boy with Reynold demanded in furious shock.

"You set us up! This was all a distraction," Reynold immediately accused.

Truth be told, Lancelot was equally as shocked as Reynold and his friend were. "What happened?" he blurted, barely processing Reynold's accusation.

"What happened? They should have guarded their pockets better," Kay's voice bitterly growled. Reynold and his friend hardly had time to start before suddenly they were seized from behind and pulled away from Lanceot, their mouths covered quickly and knives held at their throats. Lancelot stumbled forward and spun in shock, mouth agape. Kay and Bedivere! Kay looked annoyed and put out. Bedivere looked determined.

"Where are the others?" Lancelot asked in shock, still a bit taken aback by this sight and trying to process it.

"Brandelis got a hold of a key is what happened," Bedivere said. "So he got everyone who didn't say 'we should wait for Lancelot' out and made to leave the rest behind. Kay, of course, was all for ditching you guys, but I wasn't. Kay ended up choosing loyalty to me and staying behind so that we could try to all get out. Then we heard you being brought back so threw together a plan on the fly. And now we're taking these guys' damn keys and we're walking out of here, boys, so… Wait. _Reynold_?" Reynold, fuming, didn't respond beyond defiantly struggling a bit. Reynold's companion gave him an incredulous look. Reynold winced and ignored it. What? It wasn't like you were low-key in school when you joined the jousting team. Petty well everyone got to know your name then.

"Gag them and get them into the cages," Lancelot said.

"Shut up Lancelot. You don't need to give us a step-by-step," Kay bit as he and Bedivere gagged and bound the two bandits. "We're not incompetent without your leadership." They wrestled Reynold and his friend up, forcing them a bit roughly towards the cages.

Just then… "Kainus, Reynold!" a voice exclaimed from behind. Kay and Bedivere froze and spun around, eyes wide. There stood two more bandits! Oh crap.

The one who hadn't spoken blew a piercing whistle, shrill and loud, and Reynold laughed through the gag, smirking victoriously as if to tell them they made a big mistake. Immediately shouts were heard from startled bandits scrambling to respond to this distress call. Kay cursed, throwing the one they'd called Kainus down to the ground. Bedivere copied, throwing Reynold to the side after grabbing the key he had on him. He ran to the cells, releasing Bohort, Bleoberis, and Gawain all, who immediately darted out. They didn't even stop to look back, making immediately for the exit as fast as they could go. The moment they stepped out, though, they were met by six more bandits! From behind they could hear the other four running towards them.

"Let's go!" Lancelot shouted, darting in one direction with Gawain and Bohort. Bleoberis ran in a totally different one, and Kay and Bedivere in yet another. The bandits, at first thrown, quickly split into groups. Three pursued Kay and Bedivere, four more Lancelot, Gawain, and Bohort, and three others went after Bleoberis.

KAK

It took Kay and Bedivere about three minutes to realize they'd split up, and by then it was too late to go back. They'd managed to lose their pursuers in short order and looked back in alarm. "They're going to find us. We need to keep going," Kay said after a few stunned seconds.

"We can't leave the others out there!" Bedivere protested.

"I don't know about you, man, but I have a brother and father to get back to!" Kay replied. "Lancelot and Gawain can take care of themselves and Bohort! And I'm damn sure Bleoberis can too, but my goal right now is getting out alive! We did what we could for them back in that fort. They get themselves trapped again, it isn't our problem! We tried. They threw the second chance away."

"Kay, we…" Bedivere began.

"Two words. Lucan, Griflet," Kay cut off.

Bedivere clamped his mouth shut and stared at his friend a long moment. Kay's glare was unwavering. Finally, Bedivere let out a sigh, bowing his head. Kay was right… They'd done what they could for the others, and that was already above and beyond. He couldn't risk dying here and leaving his brother alone. His cousin would be okay, probably, but Lucan? Not so much. "Okay," he relented finally. Kay nodded and turned, running again. Bedivere sighed and followed.

In contrast, Bleoberis realized immediately he'd been split up from the others, but even if he tried to join up with them again he'd just be leading more bandits into the chase. Then they'd all be dealing with seven instead of three. Four in Lancelot and Bohort's case. So, he kept barrelling through the woods. Lancelot could take care of Bohort fine, and Bleoberis could take care of himself so all he had to worry about was getting back to school and seeing his family again. He didn't give it much more thought than that, sticking instead to the primal survival instinct taking over.

Lancelot, Bors, and Gawain had realized the split within a minute, but there was no turning back for the others. Not at this point. Their focus needed to be on escaping pursuit. Then they could deal with this splitting up. After about five minutes, they lost their pursuers and finally allowed themselves to stop to breathe. After a moment, Lancelot straightened up and looked worriedly at Bohort, who was terrified. Not for himself or them, but for Bleoberis. They'd seen him making off into the woods alone.

Lancelot looked towards the forest. "Gawain, get Bohort back to the school safe. I'm going after my backstabbing cousin," he finally said.

"Lancelot, that's madness!" Gawain protested immediately. "You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Bleoberis is out there dealing with three guys alone! If he couldn't get away, he's in big trouble and I'm not going back to Uncle Bors and telling him I let his dumb, overstuffed armchair of a nephew get himself killed," Lancelot replied.

"Lance!" Bohort desperately protested.

"Just go, kiddo. I'll meet up with you at the school and you can count on that," Lancelot said. He didn't wait for a response, just ran off.

Gawain looked like he wanted to pursue him. Bors _tried_. Gawain, however, ultimately stopped him. "Let him go," he said. "We need to get you home." He was probably traumatized from all this, and the argument when they'd all been caught on top of it… It just was an ugly picture all around, and Bohort didn't need things to get more complicated and confusing than they were at this point.

"But Lancelot…" Bors began.

"Will be okay. He always is," Gawain promised. "Let's go." Bohort shifted but then relented, bowing his head a bit and nodding. Gawain nodded back and led him quickly away.

KAK

Lancelot moved through the forest, head hung but eyes ablaze with anger… Maybe also hurt, as he reflected on everything that had happened… He refused to acknowledge said hurt, however. He let out a shaking breath and looked up again, trying to school his expression into a stoic one but failing. Instead it was… maybe sad was the word. Damn Arthur and his dork squad. This was all their faults! The arguing, the being abandonned, the being betrayed…

No… No, it wasn't their faults… This had been brewing for a long time… It had always been under the surface, but as long as they all were useful to one another they'd stuck to it. Not out of affection for one another, but because it benefited them… It stopped benefiting them when Arthur pulled his head out of his ass and started acting a bit more interested in others instead of focusing on himself and his own woes! Lancelot looked around. He knew he should head back, he'd been looking for Bleoberis for upwards of a half hour now with no sign of him, but he couldn't. He needed to figure out what happened to his cousin. _And_ to Dinadan and Tristan! He wasn't going to leave them out here alone, though probably Din and Tris were dead. Yeah, if he found Bleoberis first, odds were he'd head back to the school. But he'd tell the staff about what happened because he wasn't just ditching the other two! No man left behind and all that. Obviously the others didn't share that sentiment, but screw them.

"Bleober…" he beagn to call. Suddenly, though, something snapped under him and he was yanked up into the air with a cry of alarm! "Dammit!" he cursed. Like this day couldn't get _worse_?! And of course that thought immediately jinxed him. Practically on cue, the bandits crept out of the woods. All ten they'd faced. He inwardly cursed again.

"Look at what _we've_ caught," one said, a big blonde man. "Their leader. Alone and defenseless. Where are your company, boy?"

Lancelot scowled at them and pulled out a concealed knife. "Back off!" he warned them sharply.

They laughed. "Or what, little boy?" the same man taunted.

"Try me on for size, I dare you! Honorably!" Lancelot shot.

"Unfortunately for you, bandits aren't men of honor," the chief, Mador, said as he glared darkly, obviously unimpressed with this turn of events. He tossed his head at Lancelot and all the others lunged, quickly neutralizing him before binding him, cutting him down, and marching him away as their prisoner once again. Lancelot could have spit at himself. The bandits, laughing, jeered at him and began discussing the sort of payout they could get for him, and whether they should send back a body or just charge for his safety and virtue instead of letting him free.

"Where's your backup now, Lance?" Reynold taunted.

"Damn them and damn you!" Lancelot snapped.

"Aww, did your little friends abandon you to the dogs?" Reynold jeered, poking him as Lancelot struggled to get free.

"No. _I_ ditched _them_ ," he answered, almost breaking the other's finger. Reynold withdrew quickly enough to avoid it, though, and scoffed.

"You're just packed full of lies, aren't you Lancey boy?" Reynold bit bitterly. He looked forward and stopped. The other bandits came to a stop too. Mador had turned to them to address the prisoner now. You fell silent when he took this stance. _Everyone_ who knew him knew as much. Reynold stepped silently out of the way.

Mador reached Lancelot, glaring at him coldly. "That was unsporting of you," he remarked finally, looking cross.

"I planned to stay by my word. Not my fault your guys got sloppy and my guys nabbed their keys," Lancelot replied.

"Hmm… Well now the price we'll demand for your safe return has doubled," Mador said. "And really, 'safe return' is a subjective fate for you at this point. Perhaps return of a body, if you're unlucky. Perhaps a guarantee the master we sell you to will keep you pure. It depends, really."

Lancelot's heart sank as he took in the crowd of bandits who held him. There were too many for him, already disarmed, to take on. He couldn't face them weaponless when they were coming at him from every side! But damned if he didn't try. They were just wary enough of him so far, though, to stay back a bit. "Come on! Come at me, you cowards!" Lancelot challenged.

"You're doomed. Just give up," Reynold's friend, Kainus, replied.

"Fat chance!" Lancelot said. "You saw the others who escaped with me. They'll search for me when I don't come back." He wasn't entirely sure he believed that, but the key was confidence. Shake them with confidence.

"The others? A majority of your 'friends' abandonned you, boy. Don't you think they would have come looking and found you by now if they hadn't? They don't care. Your friends aren't friends," Mador said.

"The shouting match you all had could be heard clear through the fort, you fake," Reynold bluntly added. Lancelot shifted.

"You're nothing to them. A disappointment, a failure… A once glorious prize stood high on a mantle and now rusting in a junk heap. Or will be. They'd be here if they valued you anymore. You're of no further use to them so why should they be concerned about your fate?" Mador asked. Lancelot inwardly winced, stung but trying not to show as much. He knew the truth in this guy's words… He hated it. "Die here or live to fight another day," Mador pushed. "Maybe tell us about your little school and where the weaknesses are, hmm? It could be your payback for their abandonment, you know. Think about it." Lancelot was quiet, head hung…


	16. Fix Them

Fix Them

(A/N: Didn't have a lot of time to edit this, so apologies if it's a drop in quality. Hope you enjoy anyway.)

The whole atmosphere in the school changed when the jousting team returned in splinters. It was Kay and Bedivere who made it back first. "Kay, where were you? What…?" Arthur, who'd taken to waiting anxiously for his sibling, asked immediately, stepping towards him.

"Get out of my way," Kay said, cutting him off and shoving passed him. "I don't want to talk about it."

Arthur looked stunned at the response. Bedivere stopped beside Arthur as Kay marched onwards. "Wh-what happened?" Arthur asked. "And where are the rest of you?"

Bedivere's jaw twitched and he sighed heavily. "Not everything good came for your rising influence," he soon answered, looking at Arthur. He turned again to watch after Kay. "The jousting team is no more. Well, we are, we'll be forced together in practices whether we like it or not, but as a group... As a group we're no more… And I don't know whether to resent you for it or be grateful…"

"What?" Arthur asked, tensing a bit.

"I'm glad the bullying will cut back. I'm devastated we're shattered. Our friendship with one another might have been false, Arthur, but… but it was all some of us had…" Bedivere explained quietly. He walked after Kay, leaving Arthur gaping in disbelief. Holy… What _happened_?

It was Sagremore, Galihoden, and Brandelis who arrived next. They went their separate ways without words. Daniel, who'd been waiting for his brothers, approached Sagremore. "Sagremore, where are Brunor and Dinadan?" he asked his friend in concern.

"I love you man, but I hope to god they're both rotting corpses," Sagremore hollowly replied, pain and guilt in his eyes. Daniel looked struck and hurt. "Sorry," Sagremore said, shrugging. "That's how it is. You can live with me if they are. You'll probably be better off." He turned, walking away, and Daniel watched after him in shock before turning worriedly back to the gates. He shifted, looking like he wanted to go out and start searching, but not long after Sagremore, Galihoden, and Brandelis came back, Bleoberis and Brunor arrived. A huge weight all but flew off Daniel's shoulders to see that at least one of his brothers had come through that entryway. He went straight to him. "Brunor, where's…?" he began.

"I don't know, Dan, okay?! I don't know!" Brunor replied, turning on him. "For all I know he's dead! We went into a stupid goblin cave and got stupidly separated, and whether he got away or not… Dammit! None of this was supposed to happen!"

"B-Brunor, wait, wh-what…?" Daniel began, terrified now.

"Just forget it, okay?! Forget it!" Brunor said, storming away. "Tomorrow I have to get the teachers to organize a search party, and I need to figure out Dinadan's affairs if he's gone and just-just don't talk to me right now!"

"Brunor speak to me, please!" Daniel called, hurrying after him. Arthur listened quietly, expression uneasy and a bit guilty and nervous. He looked over at Bleoberis, who had spotted his uncle and cousin. They made to go to him, but he turned and stomed away quickly. Lionel and King Bors stopped, both taken aback by the behavior and now visibly scared and worried. Gawain came back with Bohort, then, and Arthur went right to them. Bohort didn't stop, just ran straight to his nervously waiting father and his nervously waiting brother. He threw himself into their arms and just cried, pouring out words Arthur couldn't hear. Whatever was said, though, Bors the Elder looked suddenly concerned and sick with worry. Swiftly he ushered Bohort and Lionel off so they could talk privately.

"Bleoberis will soon be joining them, I'll bet," Gawain said quietly, watching after the three as well.

"Gawain, what's going on man? Nobody's talking or saying anything and you're all coming back in splinters and Brunor mentioned something about goblins… What happened out there? Don't shut me out," Arthur pled.

Gawain was quiet, expression pained. He let out a shuddering breath, bowing his head. "If you promise not to gloat or be a general jerk about it, I'll tell you," he said.

"Okay, yeah, I can do that," Arthur replied. Gawain shook his head and sighed. He took Arthur aside and quietly explained all that had happened…

KAK

Arthur listened in shock. He felt like he should be happier to hear this than he was… When his nephew—his flipping _nephew_ ; he still couldn't get over that—was finished the story, Gawain was almost in tears. Arthur could say nothing for a long moment. Finally, he just put a hand on Gawain's shoulder and squeezed it lightly. It was the most… intimate he'd ever gotten with one of the jousting team say for Kay, so he'd been tentative at first, but seeing the way it seemed to relieve the guy's pain, even if only a bit, made it a whole lot easier.

"We'll figure this out," Arthur quietly promised.

"I don't know if this is something that can be figured out," Gawain replied with a sniff, looking up at the sky. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go see Jessica."

"Jessica? The girl you might have impregnated?" Arthur flatly asked. "Why? I thought you didn't want anything to do with her after that party where you, well… you know."

Gawain was quiet. "I didn't... And then she confirmed what I'd feared… I… She's pregnant, Arthur… With my child…" he said, the briefest flicker of a smile appearing before fading once more, becoming guilt and shame. Arthur started, stiffening. Gawain sniffed again, looking up at nothing. "She found out for sure two weeks ago."

Silence. "A great uncle at _my_ age? Yuck," he finally said. Gawain gave him a look and he winced. Right. Probably the wrong thing to say. "Does… does your dad know?" he questioned quietly, trying to fix the remark. This wasn't about him, after all. This was about Gawain.

Gawain shifted. Arthur would guess that meant no. "I don't know what to say to him," his nephew sure enough admitted.

Arthur was quiet. "Could always open with the classic 'dad, I screwed up' line," he said.

"Yeah. Great way to start to tell a guy he's gonna be a grandpa because his son decided to be a promiscuous slut," Gawain dryly said.

"That's a bit harsh," Arthur said, wincing. "Look, you made a bad decision. Too much ale or wine, horrible judgement call… It happens. And you're paying for it and he'll understand that. I mean, _he_ was young too once."

"He'll either understand or he'll kick me out," Gawain flatly said.

"If he kicks you out, you can come live with me," Arthur said. "There's like a bajillion unused rooms in my castle. All of them are up for grabs. But it won't come to that. I'm… almost certain?"

"Reassuring, Artie. Real reassuring," Gawain dryly said. "But… thanks for trying… Need to get better at it, but thanks anyway," Arthur nodded a bit guiltily. Gawain nodded back and started to walk away.

Arthur shifted. "Gawain, wait," he said. Gawain paused, not turning. "Just… walk with me for a bit okay? I… Wow this is hard to admit. Listen, I'm… I'm worried about you. Let's just… we'll figure stuff out, alright? How you'll approach Jess, how you'll talk to your dad, or if you want we can just… just walk quietly together for a while so you can process everything that's happened a little better."

Gawain was quiet, head hung. "Okay," he finally agreed. Arthur let out a breath of relief and went to his nephew.

KAK

Bors the Elder let his weeping son's head rest on his lap, keeping him close and gently petting his hair. Lionel, distressed and in tears, knelt by his other leg, watching his older brother and looking nervous and worried. The door opened. Bors the Elder didn't look up. He knew it was Bleoberis. He'd sent for his nephew immediately upon hearing Bohort's story. The boy hadn't stopped weeping since they'd all separated… Bleoberis came in looking ashamed, head hung. On hearing Bohort's sobbing, he winced visibly and tried to turn his massive bulk invisible by hunching in on himself. Bors looked up, frowning coldly at his nephew. "What's your excuse?" he asked.

Bleoberis was quiet. He looked at Bohort again. "I didn't… Yous ain't a failure. You or Lionel or Hector… Not even Lancelot…" he said. Bohort sniffed, curling against his father. "I just… I wuz angry. I said t'ings I didn't mean." Bohort didn't look at him. Bleoberis swalled. "Bohort, please," he begged. "You knows I loves ya. If I didn't, ya wouldn't-a been de first one I tossed outta de hole, or de one I tried'n bargain for even over Brunor." He was painfully aware that he was probably the main cause of Bohort's tears. Him and Lancelot. Bohort had always hated fighting in the family. "Come on, cuz… Look at me..."

"Why'd you throw Lancelot to the dogs? Why didn't you defend him?" Bohort asked in a whisper.

Bleoberis was quiet. "'Cause I wuz angry," he finally answered. "It was gettin' emotional, and you knows I doesn't handle dose very well. And I handled it wrong, I gets it! But-but Lancelot's gonna be fine! He'll come back and me and him'll make up and it'll be okay again, okay? 'Least between all _us_." He couldn't say the same for the jousting team as a whole, though… He inwardly winced at that thought. It shouldn't hurt like it did… Wasn't like he cared about them creeps or nothin'. Bohort was quiet, head hung, but at least he'd stopped crying.

"What if Lancelot's hurt?" Lionel asked, voice breaking in fear. "Bohort said… he said Lancelot tried to find you, when he saw you weren't with them. But you didn't come back with Lancelot, you came back with Brunor and Bohort only came back with Gawain and…"

"What?" Bleoberis cut off, tensing up a bit. "It wuz Brunor who found me. Come back lookin' for us. Or least for me. I never saw Lance." He… his cousin had looked for him? But if that was right… Lancelot didn't come back… At all… An unsettled feeling washed over him and he shifted a bit uncomfortably. "Lancelot can handle himself," he finally added. More to convince himself than them.

"But what _if_?!" Lionel insisted.

There was silence. "Then we find him," Bors the Elder spoke up, noting Bleoberis's loss for words and visible unease. "If he's not back tomorrow, we'll go looking. I don't like the idea of Lancelot out there alone. Especially when you were being chased by bandits. I'll tell Galehaut and Hector what happened. They'll be able to help too. Right now, though, I want you to make up with your cousins, Bleoberis. I don't care if you don't do the 'mushy stuff', you don't have a choice this time." He rosed, gently brushing his hands through the hair of both his sons, then left to find Galehaut and Hector, patting Bleoberis' shoulder and squeezing it as he went. Bleoberis shifted then groaned, but nonetheless went to Bors and Lionel and sat to try and make amends.

KAK

As Sir Bors approached King Galehaut's chambers, the door opened and Galihoden stepped out! Bors stopped dead in his tracks, and on seeing the man so did Galihoden, eyes wide like he'd been caught in the act of something. He blinked at the councillor. The councillor stared back at the young Count. "I…" Galihoden began. He trailed of, shutting his mouth. "Don't… tell anyone I was here. Please?" he pled, bowing his head and blushing a bit ashamedly and guiltily. Bors was quiet. Galihoden shifted and winced before moving away, hunched in on himself.

Bors watched after him then entered Galehaut's quarters. He found the king in the drawing room, talking Hector down from marching out and searching for Lancelot then and there. Eventually Hector was pacified, or seemed to be, and begrudgingly left to go to his room and worry. Galehaut watched the boy go then turned around and started on seeing Bors. "Galihoden was here… He told you then?" Bors asked.

Galehaut was quiet. "He did," he soon replied. He looked back at the fire. "He… cares for Lancelot. He actually cares…" The man sounded genuinely mystified and taken aback.

"Perhaps more than anyone believed," Bors confirmed. He _didn't_ sound surprised.

Galehaut was quiet. "Did you know?" he asked after a moment, noting the lack of shock the councillor displayed.

Bors sighed. "A school councillor _often_ knows more than anyone else," he answered. "Yes. I knew Lancelot was more than a power grab to him. He wasn't always, admittedly, just… eventually the lie became the truth… I'm not sure even Lancelot knows as much."

Galehaut was quiet. "I'll talk to Pellinore about a search tomorrow," he soon said. Bors nodded. "Did you come to tell me what happened to him, then? To Lancelot?"

"Yes," Bors anwered. Galehaut nodded. Bors bowed his head to the man and left without a word more.

KAK

Arthur and Gawain walked together in silence. Gawain just needed his presence there. They didn't have to talk. They could just be. Arthur looked up at the walls and paused. Gawain, noticing, stopped too and followed Arthur's gaze. He inwardly winced. Galihoden was up there, watching the road. "Seriously?" Gawain whispered under his breath.

"Huh?" Arthur asked.

"He's actually _concerned_ ," Gawain said. "For real concerned."

"Am I missing something here?" Arthur asked.

"Yeah. The fact it's widely known that Galihoden lobbed onto Lancelot for the power," Gawain answered. "Or so we _thought_ it was widely known… But _this_ seems to tell a different story."

"Should we go up?" Arthur asked.

"Maybe me. It might be safer if you stay out of sight," Gawain said. Arthur nodded and pulled into the shadows. Gawain headed up to join the young count. "Galihoden?" Gawain said, cautiously approaching. Galihoden bristled and looked like he was about to snap or run, but soon relaxed in the other's presence. He didn't speak, though. Gawain too stayed quiet. After a moment he went up to him and leaned on the parapet as well. Neither of them talked for a minute.

"I wasn't supposed to get to actually like the guy," Galihoden said after a while. "It wasn't my plan… It wasn't my plan to get to like _any_ of you…" Gawain stayed silent, not daring to push. Galihoden would reveal what he wanted when he wanted. "It… it shouldn't hurt like this… Disliking you all shouldn't hurt like this… Not if we never cared for one another…"

Gawain nodded quietly. "He'll come back," he soon said.

"I don't care if he doesn't," Galihoden said, standing up and moving away from the wall quickly, like he'd just realized he'd said too much.

"I'm not someone you have to hide from, Galihoden," Gawain said. Galihoden paused for a moment, then walked on in silence, ignoring Gawain.

Arthur slipped out of the shadows and went up to join his nephew, watching after the Count. "So, am I missing something here?" he asked.

"Maybe all of us were," Gawain replied sadly. And now it was probably too late… Arthur looked at him in concern then back at the road, feeling suddenly really guilty and uncomfortable.

 _Meanwhile_

Dinadan and Tristan sat in the quiet glade. They'd been told to rest here the night, that the elves would keep watch for any threat to them. They couldn't sleep waiting for news of the others, though. That and… and Tristan couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that it might be the elves who were the threat after all…

It was the elf king who eventually came in person to them. "Your friends made their way out of the caverns. They were harried by bandits and captured. Great argument broke out amongst them, and there was a divide. They managed to escape, but they escaped fractured. Splintered. They have returned, now, to your school," he said.

"Without us?" Dinadan asked quietly.

"Without you," he confirmed, and Dinadan winced. Tristan looked concerned for the other, like he wanted to do something to comfort him, but ultimately he shied away from it, unsure how to do so. "One alone remains in the forest," the elfin king continued.

"What? Who?" Tristan asked, looking up in vague surprise.

"The one with coal black curls," the elf king answered.

" _Lancelot_?" Tristan asked, eyes widening in shock. The guy always frantically tried to smooth out his curls and keep just the wave, but it never lasted long. Those curls were persistent. He personally didn't get why Lance was so determined to be rid of them. They looked good. Tristan _wished_ he had curls like that.

"He left to search for one of you who escaped alone. He desired to help him. He held hopes he may find _you_ both as well… But he was retaken by the bandits from whom they'd fled, who caught him in a snare and brought him bound to their stronghold once again," the elf king stated.

Dinadan and Tristan both leapt to their feet. " _What_?!" they exclaimed together before exchanging surprised looks. They turned back to the elf once more, focusing on him again.

"Do not concern yourself over him. Tomorrow may bring new hope, but you can do no more for him tonight," the elf king said.

"Oh yes we can," Dinadan replied.

"Please, majesty, show us the way back to the school. We have to alert the others and find him!" Tristan said. "Tomorrow may be too late." The elf king tilted his head to the side curiously, then left their presence without a word.

"Wait, you haven't answered us!" Dinadan called after him. He winced and looked at Tristan. " _Lancelot_ was the guy who stayed?" he asked incredulously.

"No man left behind. It's always been his policy," Tristan said. "Lancelot isn't… There's more to him than just the jerk. Under all of it there's something far greater, I've always believed. And now I see I wasn't totally misguided in that belief… If you want to ride back to Worcestershire, go. I'm staying and searching for Lancelot."

"What, you think I'm ditching the guy to bandits?" Dinadan asked. "I don't like him, but I wouldn't wish that fate on my worst enemy! Just, we've gotta go back to the school first. You and me alone? We're not taking on a bandit fortress. We'll end up joining the guy as their captive! We need backup."

"I… I'm not sure they'll come…" Tristan said, bowing his head and looking a bit upset.

"What do you mean?" Dinadan asked.

"The fight the erl-king mentioned… He said it split them. That isn't even a surprise. As long as we were gaining something from one another, we stuck together. Then Arthur came back, and his influence started to spread, and suddenly just…"

"Suddenly Lancelot's throne was threatened," Dinadan finshed in understanding. "Their power dropped. They stopped gaining anything from one another."

Tristan nodded. "They have no more reason to stick together, so they won't," he said.

"But there are others who'll help. Lancelot's family won't abandon him! Neither will Galehaut. Or Gawain for that matter. I mean, _that_ friendship wasn't a farce, was it?"

"No," Tristan admitted. "I guess that's something. King Galehaut and King Bors will both be forces to reckon with."

"Right. So let's get who we can to help us, and maybe we'll stand a chance of saving Lancelot before something really, _really_ bad happens," Dinadan said. The slave trade was booming, after all. And some bandits were known for being pretty… depraved. Wasn't like Lancelot wasn't good looking, because he was. _Damn_ good looking.

"Okay," Tristan agreed. "Of course, if the elf king doesn't allow us to leave…"

"Wait, he might not let us leave?" Dinadan asked, visibly uneasy at this.

"The fae are… flighty," Tristan said. "Yeah, let's go with flighty."

"Come on man, give me more than that," Dinadan said.

Tristan grimaced, shifting. "I… Why hasn't he let us leave this glen…? Why are his elves, who are supposedly protecting us from danger, facing _us_? Why, if he wants to keep us safe, are we still out here in the open and not in his halls?" Dinadan was quiet, pale. Oh no… Oh this was bad. They heard singing then, coming from the trees, and tensed up, sickly pale. "The faery ring," Tristan breathed numbly.

"What?!" Dinadan demanded, freaking out.

"That's what this is, a faery ring! Din, they're going to make us their guests. Permanently!" Tristan replied. On cue, elves danced from out the woods, singing and playing instruments, some carrying food and drink and setting it up as they all began to dance around the two horrified boys, who went back to back.

"Tris? Tris, what's happening?!" Dinadan demanded. "We have to…" He trailed off at the elves circled, singing and dancing and laughing and sighing… And suddenly the world seemed to stop, and their eyes were fixed upon the creatures in the faery circle… They could feel and see nothing else but the fae dance and the fae song…

KAK

Lancelot hadn't returned by the next day. Neither had Dinadan or Tristan. Still, the jousting team met at the scheduled time. Not because they particularly wanted to be in each other's company, but because whether they liked each other or not, they were still on a team and still had to meet up for practices. Yeah, to say it was awkward would be underplaying it. Brunor was a wreck over Dinadan. A search party had gone out but hadn't come back with any news. Bors was a wreck over Lancelot, and Bleoberis too seemed disconcerted that his cousin wasn't back yet. Gawain was quiet, sharpening his javelin in silence. The others also sat in silence, preparing their equipment. Lionel was sitting in the bleachers, watching Bohort and Bleoberis and looking concerned.

Arthur observed all of this from the gateway into the field, keeping to the shadows but looking worried. And feeling more and more guilty by the minute. "Arthur?" a voice asked uncertainly.

Arthur turned curiously and started. Hector was there, looking uneasy. "What, you going to pick up your brother's legacy?" Arthur bit. Hector winced, and Arthur regretted his words immediately. He sighed. "Sorry, just… get weirded out when relatives of Lancelot's try to talk to me. I don't… I shouldn't turn you into your brother." Hector was quiet, looking at the field sadly. "Hector? Say something? Please?" Arthur said.

Hector shifted then looked at him. "They're broken," he said sadly. Arthur was quiet. "Can't you fix them?" Hector asked, voice wavering a bit.

"Uh, what?" Arthur asked.

"Fix them. Th-that's what you do. You draw people together, I've seen! The way you got so many to stand up against Lancelot and the others, the way you, like, drew Balin and Balan and Alymere together of all people, and Degore and Lucan and Bedivere and all those other guys you hang out with now. They wouldn't have looked twice at one another otherwise, but you fixed them! You brought them together!"

"I… Hector, I didn't fix anyone," Arthur said, bowing his head a bit ashamedly. "They weren't broken, they just…"

"Needed to be brought together?" Hector finished for him. "And you did that!"

Arthur was quiet. He wasn't so sure. "These guys were already together. And it did them no good," he finally said.

"Then why are they like _this_?!" Hector demanded, poining at the morose team who weren't even looking at each other. "That isn't hate, it's hurt! Isn't it? They just… Please, Arthur, you _have_ to fix them."

"I can't fix people, Hector!" Arthur insisted. "I mean the best I could do is dress them down and hope something hits home, but you can't tell for real if that's hate or hurt they're feeling right now. You can't! If it's genuine dislike, there's nothing I can _do_ to fix them. Just…"

"Try," Hector begged, voice breaking slightly.

Arthur was quiet, looking at the younger boy. What was he, he wondered? Twelve, thirteen? Something like that? Funny… He'd never really cared too much before… He shifted. "Look, I wish I could help you, but…" Arthur began. Hector looked down, closing his eyes and swallowing over a lump looking devastated. Arthur shifted. "Hector, I don't think you understand just how badly shattered these guys are!" Arthur insisted. "Like we're talking a mirror that was dropped and whose shards were crushed afterwards by steel weights and…" Oh damn, that agonized look… He winced. "I…" He trailed off. Soon he sighed. "Okay," he said. Hector looked up at him hopefully. "But I can't do this like I did for everyone else." He didn't even _know_ how he'd done it with everyone else.

"How will you, then?" Hector asked, looking hopeful.

"Your brother. He's still missing. So are Dinadan and Tristan," Arthur said. Devastation crossed Hector's expression again. "If they're not back by now, they're in trouble. Big trouble. And the longer it takes us to find them, the worse trouble they're in. So, let's just assume they've been captured and that they can't get out of this one alone." Gawain had said something about bandits, after all.

"Then we have to do something! I have to go after Lancelot!" Hector said, trying to run for the stables.

"Whoa there, kiddie, how about we do this smart and not dumb?" Arthur said, catching the back of his tunic. "If I'm right, who here is Lancelot's best bet? Not counting you and Galehaut and your Uncle."

"The jousting team," Hector said, eyes wide. He didn't know where Arthur was going with this, but he was definitely going _somewhere_. "They know where Lancelot might be, and probably Dinadan and Tristan too. No one else does!"

"Exactly! I mean hey, I could care less what happens to Lancelot, he could end up a bandit chew toy and good riddance, but I _do_ like Dinadan, I don't mind Tristan, and Lancelot has just enough family I tolerate that I'm low-key rooting for his rescue. FYI, you and Lionel are two of them." King Bors was okay too, and Bohort was give or take but more give these days.

Hector looked shocked and flattered at Arthur's claim, not expecting it at all. "Really?" he asked.

"Yeah. Really," Arthur replied, offering a small smile. "So, to get Lance, Din, and Tris back we have to…?"

"Force the jousting team's hand," Hector said.

"Right," Arthur said. "Forcing their hand is gonna be easier than fixing them or bringing them back together. After we force their hand, get them on the same page again, I can maybe, just _maybe_ , start to work on them. Or let them work it out themselves. But… but it's a stretch, Hector, you know that, right?" Hector winced, then sighed heavily and nodded. "Okay... Let's see what we can do." Hector smiled hopefully, nodding, and headed towards the field. Arthur grimaced to himself, took a breath, and followed. Oh boy, he would have to _really_ sell this idea. Speech time, he wryly noted. He'd go for a shaming one. He wasn't inclined to be kind to them. Not like _they_ were kind to anyone.

KAK

The jousting team, plus Lionel, gaped in disbelief as Hector explained to them what he was afraid had happened to Lancelot. And really could any of them even deny it? Fact was Lancelot wasn't here, and the last time anyone had seen him, it had been near a bandit fort and he'd gone off alone. Frankly, common sense dictated he was probably some bandit prisoner right about now. Silence met Hector's words. No one moved to react or confirm or deny or do anything, really. Arthur looked them over in disbelief. "Wow. You really _are_ broken," he said. "I mean great for the school and common, decent students, but kind of sucky for Lancelot." They kept quiet, not looking at one another.

"Lancelot dug his grave. Now let him lay in it," Sagremore finally replied.

"Not like he was any use to _us_ anymore," Brandelis agreed with a scoff. "He'd passed his peak and was slipping down the slope fast."

"Why bother going after that creep anyway?" Kay asked. "We and the school are probably better off without him."

Arthur blinked then narrowed his eyes. "Oh right, because you're so much better off now," he sarcastically said. "Look at you. You're not even talking to one another! I mean I'm all for the breakup of Team Terror and everything, but seriously?! You're just gonna leave him to rot? I'm no fan of Lancelot's, I'm like the last guy who'd ever willingly defend him, but _this_? This is just pathetic! He's one of you, whether you like it or not. Aren't you guys a team or something? Teams are supposed to stick together whether they're friends or not. And he's your best! You're just a bunch of floundering failures without the guy! I mean sans Tristan, maybe, but now he's gone too! Even if you don't want to go after Lance because 'oh we aren't friends' or 'oh we don't owe him anything', he's still your captain _and_ your greatest asset!"

"Why don't you go screw yourself you little loser freak?!" Sagremore shot, stepping menacingly towards him with a scowl. Kay stuck his arm out in front of Sagremore to keep him from going at his foster brother.

"No! I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll do what you morons completely and totally fail at. Your jobs! I'll go rescue him myself. Wouldn't _that_ be a story to brag up, huh? Bully's favorite victim rescues his sorry ass while his dipshit friends sit back and scratch their backsides like the disloyal dogs they are! Screw you all!" Arthur snapped.

"Pellinore should just boot you all out. Not like you'll ever be _any_ kind of knights," Hector backed, scowling darkly at them. More pointedly at his cousins, who he'd expected better from.

"I'm gonna break your neck you little _bastard_!" Galihoden shouted at Arthur angrily, infuriated at the statement.

"Yeah, well wait 'til I drag _your_ friend back here, then you can all have a field day! Make beating Arthur up a party, but until I get that jerk back, you're shi… crap out of luck," Arthur snapped. "Look, I have no love for Lancelot at all, but it's obvious none of his teammates do either and they probably couldn't care less, so I'm forced to pick up the slack. Like I need Lancelot's death hanging over my head in this dump."

Turning on his heel, Arthur stormed away from the outraged and shocked jocks who gawked after him in disbelief. Gawain and Hector left with him without a word. About a second later Bohort, snapping out of his shock, was following with Lionel. Bleoberis didn't even hesitate before he went after them as well. Truth be told, he was more than a little afraid for his cousin. Nothing was keeping him here when Lancelot was being kept a bandit slave. Galihoden shifted, grimaced, then groaned and started towards the stables without a word to any of the others. Brandelis watched after him in surprise. He winced, an unfamiliar feeling pricking at him that he refused to acknowledge as guilt, then let out a shaking sigh and quickly followed the young count.

Those who remained stared at each other wordlessly. The tension could be cut with a knife. "I'm going," Bedivere finally said to Kay, Brunor, and Sagremore.

"Why?" Kay asked.

"Because I _don't_ hate Lancelot, and I definitely don't hate Dinadan or Tristan," Bedivere replied. "Look, Lancelot and Tristan are part of us. Whether we like it or not."

Kay was quiet. Finally, he sighed, bowing his head. "Maybe," he finally admitted in a quiet voice.

Bedivere nodded and looked at Brunor, frowning. "And you?" he asked.

"Can't stomach Lance, don't care for Tris," Brunor replied defiantly.

"Just because you can't stomach somone doesn't mean you leave them out to rot. Lancelot stayed in that forest to try and find Bleoberis, Tristan and Dinadan when no one else did. Not even you, Breunor, Din's own flesh and blood!"

Brunor looked like he'd been struck. Bedivere immediately regretted his words. "That-that's not…! I-I…" Bruenor began to stammer, looking miserable.

Bedivere winced at how his words must have sounded. "Did the smart thing," he quickly cut off so the guy didn't start majorly guilt-tripping. "But Lancelot didn't. He was headstrong and overconfident, thinking he could find them all by himself, and it got him caught. But that doesn't change the fact he was caught while trying to save them. We owe him _something_ for that, right? I mean, if we go after Din and Tris, Lance kind of comes with the package."

Brunor was quiet. "Okay," he finally agreed. He turned to Sagremore. "What about you?" Sagremore was quiet, looking away and visibly conflicted. "You don't have to," Breunor finally said. "Just… I don't know. Keep out of trouble and wish us luck, I guess." Sagremore didn't answer. Brunor winced then turned, looking down. "Let's go," he said to Kay and Bedivere, heading away. Kay nodded and followed...

KAK

"Where do you think you're going?" a voice asked Arthur from behind, as Arthur was getting a horse ready.

Arthur tensed, grimacing, and sheepishly turned. "Uh, Ch-Charming! I, uh, you see there's this… Um…" Charming glared, unimpressed. Arthur shifted and bowed his head. "I'm going to try and save Lancelot," he mumbled.

"And why on earth are you trying to hide that fact?" Charming incredulously asked. Arthur didn't answer.

Kay, watching from nearby warily, answered for his foster brother, saying, "Because if dad knew what we were doing, he'd absolutely forbid it."

"Well fortunately for you both I'm not Ector. But I'm not about to let you wander off alone either, so I shall accompany you for your little… quest," Charming said.

"Why?" Arthur asked incredulously.

"Because then, when your foster father finds out, and he _will_ find out, you can claim you were at least semi-responsible and brought along an actual adult," Charming replied. Arthur and Kay grimaced, exchanging uneasy looks, then nodded in defeated agreement at Charming. "I thought so," he flatly said, starting to prepare.

Sagremore, meanwhile, watched on from a distance, arms crossed as the others prepared to ride away. Confusion and unease were in his eyes. "Brunor!" he heard a frantic voice shout. He looked in its direction and saw Daniel racing out as Brunor was about ot leave with the others. Brunor paused, looking over, then slid off his horse and went to his brother, embrasing him tightly. Daniel clung to him. "Where are you going?" Daniel said, voice shaking a bit.

Brunor, of course, explained the situation and finished up with, "So we're going after Din and Tris and Lance, and we're getting them out of there."

"Then I'll come too," Daniel said immediately and determinedly.

"What are you going to do? Read them to sleep?" Brunor bit at his sibling. "Stay here."

"But…" Daniel began.

"Sorry bro, but you're just not cut out for this," Brunor said, smirking and ruffling Daniel's hair. Daniel frowned, pushing away his hand in frustration. Brunor laughed and mounted up again. "Bye," he said with a wave, galloping away to catch up to the others. Daniel was quiet, watching after them.

Sagremore shifted, sighed, then approached Daniel. "Grab some tack. I'll get the horses. Meet me at the stables," he said to his friend.

"Huh? Daniel said, turning to the Sagremore. "Y-you're going too?"

"Can we not talk about it?" Sagremore replied. "Hey, if Galihoden's daring to go, then why the heck not?"

"Galihoden? I thought he…" Daniel began.

"Piggybacked off Lancelot? So did I. Turns out we were wong. Now get moving and grab that tack. FYI, you're lucky I'm letting you tag along. Odds are you'll be forgotten there and end up taking Lancelot's place with no one knowing you're even missing," Sagremore bit. Daniel winced and bowed his head, but nonetheless went off to hunt down the tack. Sagremore was in one of 'those' moods, and when he was, it was best to kind of let his biting remarks just slip off, then let him know it wasn't okay later when he was out of his funk. Sagremore greeted his return with a 'sorry' and a deeply ashamed look, and Daniel figured he'd gotten the picture. Good. Saved him having to bring it up later, then... When Daniel and Sagremore caught up with the rest, there was little argument on Brunor's part about his brother's being there. He almost seemed a bit relieved for it, in fact, and so the group rode onwards without conflict, finding their way back to the bandit fort…

KAK

Lancelot glared up at the bandits who had taken him outside and stood him in a clearing, surrounding him. Either this would be an execution ground, or it would be the scene of a lot of pain he'd soon be experiencing at their hands. "I've decided to give you a choice, boy. Tell me, what fate do you desire for yourself? Freedom notwithstanding of course. Join us, become a slave, or die," the bandit chief, Mador, said to him.

Lancelot, looking down, was quiet. Finally, though, he raised his head and met the man's eyes, his own blazing. "I choose death over slavery. I choose death over being imprisoned to fear! You think you're free? This isn't freedom! This is living in terror," he sharply replied bold and defiant. "Be slaves to dread all you want, but I _won't_ join you in it."

The bandits looked livid at his words, but were quiet, some even exchanging slightly uncertain looks. After a long moment, Mador replied, "Very well. A body it is. I'm not inclined towards selling people if it can be helped anyway. Too much unwanted attention. So, men, draw your bows and crossbows."

"Too scared to face me hand-to-hand?" Lancelot sneered.

"I've been informed you're the best that school has to offer. I'd much rather my men stay alive. You, though? You've become a liability," Mador replied.

"Reynold you son of a bitch!" Lancelot shot, guessing immediately it was Reynold who'd told them that little tidbit about his skill.

"What goes around comes around, Lancey boy," Reynold replied, smirking darkly at him. "This is going to be hilarious."

"Damn you!" Lancelot shouted.

"Take aim," Mador ordered. The men did so, pulling back bowstrings or preparing to fire their crossbows. Lancelot held his breath, standing stiff in place. He tried to hide the fear and despair in his eyes, but it was useless to attempt it. He swallowed, gritting his teeth with fists clenched as he prepared to feel the arrows start entering his body. He wouldn't feel them for long at least, he dryly and bitterly thought. A cold comfort, but a comfort nonetheless… "Fi…"

All at once Mador was cut off by a scream of pain from one of his men, then another and another. He gasped, sharply looking over. Lancelot's spun too with eyes wide. A rescue, he hopefully thought? His mouth dropped upon seeing who it was. The jousting team!

KAK

The jousting team didn't think, they just moved. In short order bandits were being driven away like mongrels, scattering in alarm and trying to escape the sudden onslaught of blazing-eyed rescuers descending on them viciously. Lancelot could only gawk on in disbelief. He heard a sword swinging at him from behind and gasped, spinning. Reynold, swinging his blade at his neck to try and behead him! All at once, though, another sword caught Reynold's, stopping it in place! Lancelot looked gratefully to his rescuer, and his shock multiplied by a million the second he saw.

"Arthur?!" Lance exclaimed in utter shock, hands going to his head in disbelief and horror when he realized it was the dork who'd saved his life. Why couldn't it have been _anyone_ else, dammit?!

"Will you get your sword up and help?!" Arthur sharply demanded, cutting Lancelot free and tossing him a blade. Lancelot didn't need much for prompting and immediately turned and threw himself into the fight.

"All we want is that boy! Leave him to us and you go free," Mador sneered at the opponent he was facing. Galihoden.

"Screw yourself," Galihoden replied. "We aren't leaving _him_ behind or anyone!" Lancelot glanced over at the count, visibly shocked at the statement. Galihoden winced and refrained from meeting the other's eyes. The bandits knew they were beaten, outnumbered as they were, and immediately began to abandon the fight, shouting and tripping over themselves to get away and drag the injured and dazed with them… When the dust cleared, the students and Charming were victorious, and the bandits had fled…

Panting, the students exchanged shocked looks. "Wow. We actually did it. I mean, good job guys," Arthur praised, impressed. "Now we need to take note of the location of their fort and tell the teachers. Pellinore will know what to do from here."

"Who put _you_ in charge?" Galihoden bit.

"Oh, I'm sorry, do you have a better idea?" Arthur snapped back. "Please share it!" Galihoden glared at Arthur, Arthur glared challengingly back. They both knew, _everyone_ knew, that the order had been a common sense one. Galihoden finally relented and huffed, turning defiantly away from Arthur and crossing his arms. Arthur sighed in slight exasperation then suddenly felt eyes on him. He inwardly winced and turned cautiously only to spot Lancelot staring, eyes wide in shocked disbelief as Gawain explained to the King of the Jerks that it had in fact been _Arthur_ to spur the rest of them to action. Lancelot didn't even look away when he realized Arthur had seen. Arthur actually looked away in fact, grimacing and trying to ignore the gaze. It wasn't long before Lancelot approached him… And as he did, everyone else fell silent, watching on.

Arthur bristled but held his ground, glaring at his tormentor. "Why did you come?" Lancelot asked.

Arthur glared up at him. "Because no one else was going to," he finally replied.

Lancelot's jaw twitched slightly. "Galehaut would have come. My _family_ would have come," he finally said. But there was a slight strain in his voice telling Arthur that Lancelot honestly hadn't been sure whether they would have or not… Which was kind of depressing, actually.

"Yeah. Probably…" he replied, settling on semi-reassurance. "Look, I'm king, Lance. My job is to protect my subjects whether I like them or not. And whether _you_ like it or not, you're one of my subjects."

Lancelot was silent, glaring. Arthur glared back. Finally, Lance sighed. "Did you find Tristan and Dinadan?" he asked.

Arthur started, a bit surprised _that_ had been the question. He grimaced, shifting. "No," he admitted. He didn't even know where to start looking. It seemed _no_ one did.

"Lance, what about…?" Lionel began. Lanclot gave him a sharp and warning glare. Lionel slammed his mouth shut. He knew that glare. "N-nevermind," he said.

"Nevermind what?" Brunor asked.

"It's nothing," Lancelot replied. "A stupid idea, calling on faeries. Like they'd respond to mortal cries. They sure weren't friendly in the caves."

"There has to be something!" Brunor said.

"There is," Arthur replied, looking at Charming. Charming tensed up slightly, glancing warily and guardedly at him. "My servant is half-fae," he said. "Maybe… maybe he can track them…" All eyes went to Charming, who set to cursing out Arthur in his head most vulgarly.

There was a long beat of silence. "I never did get much in touch with my more magic side," he stated finally. "I'm quite sure I can't help you."

"Come on Charming. All we need is a path finding spell at least!" Arthur protested. "I mean, how hard can that be?" Charming was quiet, glaring. " _Please_ ," Arthur pled.

Silence. Finally, though, Charming sighed. "Fine," he relented. Ugh, he'd never been overmuch a fan of his faery side. He'd always leaned more towards his father's human one. But if it would get him closer to his ultimate objective, so be it. Grumbling, he closed his eyes trying to recall the path-finding spell he'd been taught when he was small. Finally he found it and let out a sigh, raising his palm up and forming a spell in it. The boys watched on in awe and wonder. Finally he let the spell go, and a ball of light shot off into the distance, leaving a trail behind it. "Ride quickly before it fades!" Charming ordered. Immediatley they all mounted up and galloped after the glowing ball, following its train.

KAK

Charming's spell had been dead on. It had led them exactly to where they wanted to be, and now they all gaped from the bushes as they watched the fae dancing in circles in a hidden glen. In the midst of them stood the utterly enthralled Dinadan and Tristan! "Din," Brunor gasped, trying to move out.

Lancelot pulled him back. "No. Not like that. You walk into that fairy ring you're as toast as them! Next thing you'll know, seven years will have passed by and everyone you ever knew, everything you ever had, will be gone. They're fae. You can't strong-arm them."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Lionel asked his cousin in concern.

Lancelot considered this. "You bargain," Charming said. All eyes went to him. "Fair Folk. It's in their blood. Curiosity. The desire to make deals and bargains that are as likely to benefit you as curse you… So you must go to them with words… And you must be wary of every single thing you say."

The boys were silent, staring at him. "You're half fairy. So go to them," Lionel said to Charming. "No one else will have a chance, sir! Please? What… what can they do to you if you're part _them_?"

Charming was quiet, glaring. He looked towards the fairy ring. On a throne, watching over it, sat a king… The elven king… Fairy Godmother had not had a good, err, 'working relationship' with him. They hadn't exactly… seen eye-to-eye on things… The elfin king would know him… The creature had tried to steal him from his bed when he was small long ago, before it had known he was Fairy Godmother's son. That had probably been when the bad blood between the two started. The elf king was… less than impressed she'd conceived a child during a union with a human. And less than impressed by her work policies and greed and selfishness when it came to her _job_. The prince looked around at the boys, all looking hopefully at him. His concern was Arthur, though, not the rest. Arthur looked hopeful. Dammit all. What he wasn't willing to do to get his kingdom back.

The prince shifted, grimacing, then sighed and rose, approaching the magic ring. The boys watched on, eyes wide in wonder and awe and hope. Watched as he entered the ring, totally and completely unaffected by whatever magic protected it. He joined in the dance, keeping a low profile and going undetected, eyeing the king and determining the best time to break away from the elves and approach his throne…

 _We dance all night in the circle fair,_

 _And sing and laugh without a care._

 _When daytime breaks away we go,_

 _'Tis better the less the mortals know._

 _But you young men who crossed our king,_

 _Have earned the wrath of the faery ring._

 _For you both have seen what you ought not,_

 _Now this, for you, is the price we've wrought._

Charming moved away from the circle, coming out right in front of the elf king's throne. The creature sat up straighter, a frown pulling at his lips. It barely moved a finger before silence fell at his voiceless command, and the dance stopped.

 _"What is this man who our spell avoids?"_

 _"It is not a man. Rather he is, but only in part."_

 _"Only in part? What do you mean?"_

 _"He is of our ilk. I sense the fae."_

The whispers seemed to fill the air. Again, though, they went quiet when the king glanced at them warningly. "You do not belong," the king said to Charming, turning to him again.

"Not in your world _or_ the human one apparently," Charming flatly answered. "You know, then, what and who I am."

Quiet. "You are the son of the Fairy Godmother," the king soon replied.

"And I have come to take back the mortal boys you've enthralled," Charming said. "Need we bargain, you and I? What use is a faery deal when made with one of your own sort, after all?"

The elf king was silent, reading Charming quietly. "You have come with others," he soon said. "Perhaps we shall bargain with _them_ as the stakes."

Charming was quiet. "They're of no concern of yours. They just want their friends back. They wish no harm on you," he said.

"I would speak with the king among them," the elf said.

Charming tensed up. How could this thing sense Arthur…? Why was he so willing to speak with the boy also? "The boy is under my protection," Charming said.

"I wish no harm upon him," the elf king replied. "After all, what use is a faery bargain when made with one of your own ilk?" The frigid and dangerous little smirk that had crossed the creature's lips? It wasn't reassuring.

Charming started. Had the elf king just implied... "You're lying," Charming said.

"It is very likely I am. And equally likely I am not," the elf king replied. "I would speak with the boy." Charming was quiet. This, he decided; this would be another mystery to solve... Finally, he turned and went to fetch Arthur.

KAK

Arthur gawked up at the elfin king in horror and wonder at the same time. Charming was at his side, a hand firmly and guardedly on his shoulder. "Y-you w-wanted to, uh, s-speak sir?" Arthur finally managed to squeak out.

The elf king tilted his head. "A darkness threatens Worcestershire fortress," the elf soon said. Arthur tensed up, looking surprised. What…? "A darkness from below… The goblins desire to replenish their numbers. They hunt the little ones of the land. The intrusion of your men upon their domain… It stirred them to action. Now they plot. Now they prepare… They will attack. Very, very soon… I will let your friends free, but in exchange _you_ will do something for _me_." Arthur, shaken and flustered by these words, could only quickly and almost fervently nod. "Good… Then when the time comes for you to repay my mercy to your friends, you will be sought out, and I will give you my price."

"That's… it? There's a catch. There has to be," Arthur replied. And it would probably be in this 'price' the elf king eluded to.

"Always. But you have no choice. Should you refuse, your friends will never be free again," he said, gesturing to Dinadan and Tristan. "And I will take also all those who have followed you into my domain…"

Arthur tensed up, feeling a prickle run down his spine. "You realize I'll fight for them, of course," Charming said, sounding unimpressed.

"And you will fail. You who have so callously rejected the faery side of yourself," the elf king bit, looking icily at him. Charming was quiet, wincing and shifting a bit uncomfortably.

"Okay," Arthur relented, stepping in before tensions could grow between the two. The forest king nodded and turned to his people, saying something in an elfin tongue. Wordlessly they left the glen, taking what they'd brought, and disappeared into the woods. Two minutes later, Tristan and Dinadan were starting to come back to themselves.

"Holy…" Brandelis began.

"Tristan, Dinadan!" Brunor called, racing towards them.

Dinadan and Tristan, still a bit dazed, looked quickly over and saw the others racing towards them, and Arthur and his servant nearby. "Guys, are you okay?" Arthur asked in concern.

"Wh-what happened?" Tristan asked, wincing. The others reached them, then looking unsure. "How long have we been here?"

"A day, maybe two?" Arthur replied. "Kind of… hard to tell. We would have been here sooner but there were… issues."

"Issues?" Tristan asked.

"The jousting team had a big break up," Hector flatly said.

"Bad enough no one came after us for two days?" Dinadan dryly asked, frowning. "Thought they usually broke up just to blow off some steam."

Hector looked pained. Arthur shifted uncomfortably. "It was that bad?" Tristan quietly asked, head bowed a bit like he already knew the answer but just needed the confirmation.

"Yeah… It was that bad…" Arthur replied, glaring back at them. They were pointedly avoiding Tristan and Dinadan's eyes.

"Whatever. Don't care. Fact is they finally put on their big-boy pants, pulled their heads out of their asses, and got their backsides in gear. Otherwise they wouldn't be here I'm guessing," Dinadan said.

"Flip you too, Dinadan," Lancelot bit. "Could _try_ to be grateful at least."

Dinadan rolled his eyes, crossing his arms. "Whatever. Let's just go," he said. "We've been stuck out in the middle of the woods long enough." The others chorused their agreement. They'd done what they came here to do, save Lance, Din, and Tris, and now they could go back to the school and deal with everything else. Namely each other.

They all headed to the horses, but Arthur stayed put, watching after them with Charming. Soon he turned sheepishly to the prince. "Did I… screw up?" he asked a little vulnerably. "Making that deal with him without even knowing his price?"

Charming was quiet. "Anyone who deals with the fae has made a grave mistake. Whether it turns out in their favor or not? That's another matter entirely, Arthur. The Fair Folk give neither blessing nor curse. It is in how the mortals deal with what they've received, or view it, where blessing or curse lie," he answered. He looked at Arthur. "Would you have felt better had you refused him and left your companions to rot?"

"No," Arthur replied.

"And if down the line something ill happens to you, will you regret you suffered in their place?" Charming asked.

"No," Arthur answered. "But… but if something happens to anyone I love…"

"Then it isn't so easy, is it?" Charming said. "Whatever happens, it's too late to go back now. Comfort yourself, for now, in your knowing you saved two promising young lives and spared their loved ones needless grief. That's about the only advice I can give you." And it was highly hypocritical advice on his part at that. He could't say he himself would have chosen like Arthur had. He was a more… pragmatic thinker. Except when it came to himself, in which case he would always choose his own well-being over others.

Arthur seemed soothed by the words ultimately, at least, and that was a win, Charming believed. "Thanks Charming," the young king said before heading after his fellows. Charming followed him, smirking conspiratorily.

KAK

The students reached the school and returned the horses and tack before stepping out into the now relatively empty courtyard. It was late, by this point. Probably the last classes of the day were in session. Arthur paused, looking around, and inwardly flinched. He turned uneasily to the jocks, who were murmuring amongst themselves while shooting looks at him. Arthur drew a breath then let it out. They stopped muttering on noticing his staring.

"What do _you_ want, dork?" Brandelis bit.

"I'm just waiting for you to do whatever it is you're planning to do to me for the way I put you down," Arthur answered simply and honestly. "I told you you could go open season when we got back, so go open season." Maybe it would fix them… Help them feel like they weren't totally irrelevant yet.

"What?" Kay immediately asked.

"Huh?" Hector added, visibly concerned. What was he doing and why?

The jousting team was still, staring at the young king in shocked disbelief. "Leave him," Lancelot said. They all looked at him. He wasn't meeting their eyes, glaring at the ground in frustration. "He's not worth the time," Lancelot continued. They were quiet. They looked back to Arthur, who stood his ground.

"You're right. He's not," Sagremore finally said for the others. "Come on Daniel, let's go."

"Wait, Daniel was there?" Dinadan asked.

Sagremore and Brunor both froze, stiffening. They blinked, exchanged looked, then turned. "He didn't ride back alongside you?" Brunor asked Dinadan quickly.

"We didn't even know you'd brought him!" Dinadan freaked, taking a head-count immediately. "He's not _here_!"

"I-I thought…" Sagremore began before trailing off, immediately concerned. "When was the last anyone _noticed_ him?!

"Probably the last time he talked! Which was never!" Kay shot.

"Oh gods, I told him odds were he'd be forgotten and left to the bandits, but I didn't thnk it would actually happen!" Sagremore exclaimed.

"Guys, chill. He probably just slunk off when we got back. Daniel does that," Bedivere said. That seemed to ease them a bit at least. School wasn't out yet, so odds were he'd just hurried to get to the last class he was missing, right?

"If he's not where he's supposed to be after the last class of the day lets out, we're going back out there," Dinadan said with finality, in a voice that told them all there were no questions to be asked or refusals to be made. Even if the jocks flat out refused to help, with or without them he was going after his brother. It wasn't up for debate. No one tried to argue or refuse.


	17. The Forgotten

The Forgotten

Daniel didn't know how he'd ended up here. He really and truly didn't. One minute he was fighting to free Lancelot, then he was hurt, then he was being dragged off by the bandits along with their own injured, then he was in their encampment being treated and tended and trying to figure out why the heck they weren't killing or imprisoning him and were instead giving him first aid. Then he realized, when they didn't throw him in a cage afterwards, that they apparently thought he was one of them. So now here he was sitting mortified in the banquet hall of their fort, eating and drinking with them and trying desperately to continue being unnoticed. They couldn't seriously keep on obvlious to the misfit in their midst, could they? He began to feel uneasy. The others would realize he was gone, right? They'd come for him, right?!

"Looks like somebody got forgotten," a bandit next to him said.

Daniel tensed and glanced over. He started, though, on seeing who it was. He recognized this boy! "Reynold?" he asked, eyes wide in shock.

"You remember me," he said, pleasantly surprised. "Can't say I remembered _you_ , though. At first."

"Story of my life," Daniel murmured quietly with a despondent sigh.

"I should just turn you in, I suppose," Reynold said nonchalantly.

"Why bother? They'd probably forget they had me and leave me to starve to death in the cell," Daniel flatly replied.

"Ooh, someone's bitter," Reynold said.

"I just got forgotten by one of my brothers and my best friend. I'm so unnoticeable that your band of baddies here honestly think I'm one of them and have _no_ clue I was one of the guys just fighting them," Daniel flatly said. "So yeah, you could say I'm a bit bitter."

"You always had crap luck," Reynold said, snickering.

"I had fine luck. It was just in the form of invisibility," Daniel said. "If I _didn't_ have that fine luck, I wouldn't be talking to you right now."

"Rub me the wrong way and you _won't_ be talking to me for much longer," Reynold said. Daniel kept quiet, deciding to try and make the best of this and get some food and water into his body at least. Before they clued in that somebody here didn't belong.

KAK

As luck would have it, it wan't long before things started to get a bit dicey. The bandits were talking and laughing and boasting up their feats and conquests, goading each other into sharing stories. Which was something he decidedly wasn't okay with, because some of those stories were disturbing and at times pretty vulgar. Which made him feel like a fish out of water and probably look it too, as he was like the only one of them who hadn't spoken a word so far. Except for to Reynold earlier, but that didn't count. Sure enough… "And you, comrade! You have been quiet so far. What is the tale of _your_ first conquest?" one of the men, laughing rauceously, said in a heavy German accent, clapping him on the back hard and knocking him into the table. The others burst into laughter.

"M-my what?" Daniel stammered.

"Sex, boy!" the man said. "Your first experience."

Daniel went bright red. "I-I-I-I…" he stammered.

"Someone's being shy!" the blond bear of a man boomed, dragging him near and noogying him. Daniel was mortified. The leader, though, Mador, was starting to look suspicious. As were some other long-timers.

"In a carriage with his father's second wife. After he'd killed said father," Reynold suavely stated, smirking and nudging Daniel.

Daniel, sputtering, blurted, "I what with who and where?!"

"Oh please, don't play dumb. You've definitely boasted it up enough whenever you've hung out with Kainus and me," Reynold said. The bandit named Kainus, who looked not a great deal older than them, shot Reynold a confused look. Reynold gave him a glance that screamed 'go with it'. Kainus raised a doubtful eyebrow then shrugged, playing along. "So, how's _that_ for a conquest, Sadok?" Reynold continued, smirking at the blond man who had his arm slung carelessly around Daniel.

"Depraved. I am loving it!" the blond replied, laughing and clapping Daniel's back hard again, making him yelp and hit the table a second time. Of course, that elicited more laughter, but unfortunately it also got a few more looking at him curiously like they were trying to recall his face. "Tell me boy, how new are you? Obviously not new enough that Reynold and Kainus have not sought you out yet, seeing as you have felt comfortable enough to brag to them, but I cannot recall your arriving here," Sadok pressed, which warned Daniel that he too was getting suspicious, and that was a problem.

"You were drunk out of your head, Sadok," Kainus said, smirking and sipping from his mug. "In fact, most of us were."

"Oh?" the leader, Mador, asked, staring at Daniel now.

"I-I…" Daniel stammered. "I'm a runaway! F-from the school. Where those… guys that attacked us go! I, uh, c-came upon this place as I was leaving and, uh…" He shot a desperate look at Reynold, who rolled his eyes and looked about ready to hang him out to dry.

"I found him," Kainus cut in. "And I fought him and beat him, but I thought he had potential and… suggested he throw in his lot with us. You agreed, Mador. But you were pretty inebriated that night, so I'm not surprised your memory is foggy on the details." Mador was quiet, glaring at Daniel coldly, but let it go for now. Apparently no one else was inclined to question it either, so Daniel was able to breathe for the rest of the meal…

KAK

Reynold couldn't say he was surprised when Mador summoned Kainus and him. He'd seen it coming when the guy had begun to _really_ look hard at Daniel, who he'd also summoned. "Who is this boy and where did he come from?" Mador asked point blank.

"He's been here for weeks, Mador. He's just so unnoticeable he doesn't really stick out all that much," Reynold easily lied. Well, half-lied. Daniel really _was_ that unnoticeable. To be totally honest, Reynold didn't know why he was bothering to lie for the guy. He guessed it probably had something to do with the fact that Daniel was one of the few he'd not hated in Worcestershire, when he used to attend. Either way, he'd started down this path and he'd never been one to easily sway his course, so he stuck to it.

"Don't lie to me, boy," Mador warned, leaning forward with eyes narrowing warningly.

"Who's lying? I'm serious," Reynold insisted. He looked at Kainus. "Back me up here, man."

Mador looked over at Kainus, who was quiet. "Yeah. Yeah, he's been here a couple weeks," Kainus finally said, deciding to just go with it. Now _he_ was curious. Reynold rarely stuck his neck out for anyone, so why was he sticking his neck out for _this_ kid? It was obvious, at least to him, that the guy had probably been a Worcestershire prick. He'd clued into _that_ soon enough. Reynold had no love for Worcestershire or its students, so the fact he was going this far for one of them was a bit out of character for his friend.

"You know how I feel about liars," Mador darkly warned, rising and withdrawing a hefty and ugly looking mace. Daniel paled a bit and stepped forward uneasily.

"Yeah, we do, so why would we lie to you about _this_?" Reynold asked, eying the mace warily. "You ever known _me_ to stick my neck out for anyone?" Mador glanced dubiously at Kainus. Reynold shifted then frowned. "Okay, so there was Kai, but that's been it," he mumbled a bit sheepishly.

"Kai, who is this boy?" Mador asked Kainus coldly, pointing at Daniel.

"One of us," Kainus replied, unflinching.

"This… This is very, very disappointing… You have one more chance. Who. Is. This. Boy?" Mador asked, slowly approaching Reynold and Kainus, mace being adjusted in his hand like he was ready to swing at a minute's notice.

"One of us," Reynold said calmly. Mador's jaw twitched and he raised the mace quickly like he was going to strike.

"I was with the ones who were fighting you! I'm from Worcertershire!" Daniel blurted, paling. He wasn't about to let _anyone_ die for him if it could be helped. Judging by the way both Reynold and Kainus winced, though, Daniel got the feeling that there wouldn't have been death at all. That they had been calling a bluff. The 'seriously' looks they gave him all but confirmed it. He blushed deeply, bowing his head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry… The risk was too high. Your lives weren't a price I wanted paid for mine…" he mumbled by way of excuse. Both Reynold and Kainus were visibly startled at the remark. Even Mador was still, looking a bit… caught off guard at that. After a moment, Mador approached him. Daniel swallowed but held his ground.

"Mador…" Reynold uncertainly began.

"Silence," Mador sharply warned. Reynold shut up and watched on with Kainus, who shifted slightly uneasily. Mador stared down at Daniel. "You realize you've sealed your fate?" he said.

"I wasn't afraid to live… And I'm not afraid to die," Daniel replied. "Can you say the same?"

Mador's expression darkened and he looked like he was about to hit the boy, but instead restrained himself. He scowled darkly. "I lived my life free and well," he answered.

"Being afraid to sleep at night for fear of ambush or mutiny is freedom?" Daniel bit sharply. "Watching your men dying all around you or being captured and tortured is a fulfilling life? If that's your concept of freedom and independence, you can have it. I want no part of it."

"And what _was_ your life, boy, if even your own friends forgot you?!" Mador angrily snapped.

Daniel stayed calm. "My life was monotonous and repetitive, I'll give you that. But at least I was at peace. That's more than _you'll_ ever be, so really, then, which of us is _truly_ a slave, Sir Mador?"

Mador was silent, glaring at Daniel darkly. "Bind him and prepare for a journey. We ride for Worcestershire immediately. It seems we have quite the bargaining chip on our hands. Worcestershire is ripe for the plunder, it isn't a poor school, so let's see what they're willing to give for one of their own," he said to Kainus and Reynold. Neither moved, obviously a bit disconcerted by Daniel's words. "Now!" Mador snapped sharply. Immediately they moved to obey. "Bring him out the moment he'd bound, gagged, and blindfolded. Make him look as pathetic as possible." Kainus and Reynold gave him weird and slightly concerned looks. Mador frowned at them. "Prisoner rags, not stripped," he flatly said. They were visibly relieved at that. Frankly, so was Daniel. Mador shook his head at them, rolling his eyes and throwing up his hands, then left to gather the rest of the bandits.

 _Elsewhere_

The elf king's remarks about goblins hunting the little ones of the land and planning an attack on Worcestershire weighed heavy on Arthur's mind. That was kind of a big deal. The faculty had no clue what may be coming. Aside from some unease over a goblin who'd happened to stray too close, they had no reason to suspect anything big was looming on the horizon, so right now _that_ was Arthur's focus. Alerting them of the situation so they could prepare for it. The thing was, he had no idea how to go about _doing_ that.

He let his eyes wander over the school yard, where students were mingling as the last classes let out for the night. These were his subjects. He had to figure out how to protect them, right? But how _could_ he? Apparently there were a lot of goblins. Like a _lot_. Kay had said so. He'd said there were probably hundreds. Needless to say, Worcestershire didn't have _half_ that force going for them. Arthur grimaced. Maybe if he could get Uriens and Nentres to work with him? Even if only temporarily? If Nentres and Uriens still had soldiers camping out in the woods waiting for another go at him, those armies could surround any goblin threat from behind and just mow them down in droves. He grimaced. He wasn't going to hold his breath that he'd win their alliance, but… but he had to _try_ …

He whimpered slightly. He knew what he had to do. Make himself visible, call a meeting of the kings… He'd stand out like a sore thumb and he really, really, really didn't want to do that right now. At all. Maybe he'd just go see principal Pellinore and tell him his request and hope the guy covered for him? He shifted uneasily. Pellinore would have more sway, wouldn't he? If Arthur did it himself then odds were certain people—cough, cough, Uriens, Nentres, and probably Galehaut—would refuse, and the young king had no idea how he'd argue them when they refused anyway. Besides, convincing a cranky Uriens to help him out without having a plan in place was a bad idea. He'd probably end up impaled without even a word said in response. Nentres was the more reasonable of the two. Hmm, actually maybe a cranky Nentres was worse than a cranky Uriens. Uriens might be the safer bet. He winced. He knew he was only kidding himself. Pellinore wasn't going to carry him. No one could carry him. He was high king now, and unless he wanted to be deposed early, he was on his own.

"So, 'your majesty', what exactly is your plan?" Charming spoke up from behind him, noting the boy's uncertainty and unease.

Arthur was quiet, suddenly feeling really small. "I have to warn the teachers what's coming. And Uriens and Nentres. They have the manpower… But to do that I have to call a meeting with them and we'll have to discuss our options and I just… I don't know how to… Or want to… It feels weird, you know? Taking the reigns from the teachers and, well, initiating, and… and I don't know the words to say… I don't know how to speak as a king…"

"I never would have guessed," Charming bit. Arthur winced and was quiet. Charming's jaw twitched a bit and he shifted. "If… if you don't know how to speak as a king, then speak as Arthur."

"But sometimes speaking as me isn't going to be enough," Arthur said.

"The rest comes," Charming said.

"Can't you, I don't know, mentor me or give me tips or something? That's why I kept you around instead of arresting your sorry arse," Arthur said in frustration. Charming glared at him then stood up straight. Arthur started and paled a bit. "Ch-Charming, wh-what are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm going to play messenger, you're going to tagalong, and when they try to get defiant you'll see how _I_ handle it," Charming said. "Take what you will from your observations."

Arthur relaxed on realizing Charming wasn't going to physically damage him. "Are you going to make me enemies?" he worriedly asked.

"Follow me and see, or sit and wait to find out," Charming replied. Arthur shifted but didn't move to stand. The prince eventually huffed and headed off to find the various kings in this place. Arthur grimaced then followed uneasily.

KAK

Kings Pellinore and Bagdemagus were easy enough to find, both seated in Pellinore's office doing some paperwork. The two looked over curiously upon hearing the door being knocked on. "Enter," Pellinore said.

Charming did so, walking in. "Majesties," he greeted. "King Arthur requests your presence forthwith." Both sets of eyes went to the nervous Arthur, who was hanging in the background and now looked like he wanted to die or disappear into nothing. He whimpered a bit and sank down low. They didn't ask questions as to why the king wasn't speaking with his own mouth. They could both hazard a pretty good guess.

Pellinore and Bagdemagus looked back at Charming. "Then we'll come," Pellinore said. "But for the love of all things good and evil, tell him to look a bit more commanding and in control than that. Being a nervous puppy won't win him audience with the likes of Uriens, Nentres, and Galehaut. They should all be in the study hall. Big exams are coming up soon, so that's where you'll find a good number of students and teachers gathered. Likely the kings you seek among them."

Charming nodded then returned to Arthur. "No slouching, back straight, head high. Let your eyes sweep the study hall when we arrive there and settle on whomever you wish to speak to. It will give the illusion you're in control." Arthur winced and nodded, doing as Charming said. He stopped his slouching and straightened up, raising his head. "Good. Now when we get to the study hall, and you determine the next target, communicate it to me with just your gaze and perhaps a gesture. Not with words. It will be a good exercise for you. Practice for a throneroom setting."

"But I…" Arthur began.

"Arthur," Charming warned. Arthur winced and bowed his head a bit, nodding in understanding. "Good. Now come along." Charming headed towards the study hall, Arthur following along.

KAK

Upon arrival at the study hall, Arthur made his way inconspicuously to a table in the middle of the room and sat down awkwardly, hating the looks he was getting. He tried to ignore them and focused mainly on scanning for a sign of any of the other kings in this school. Pretty well all the ones left were here except Alisander, but he wasn't sure the Byzantine Emperor needed to be involved in this. Greece was a long way from Brittania so whether Alexander would really care or not he didn't know. Arthur spotted King Bors and let his eyes settle on the man, gesturing slightly to indicate to Charming where he wanted him to go. Charming did so, following his gaze, and nodded before marching towards the man. Arthur shifted nervously but stayed put.

As Charming approached King Bors, the deposed monarch raised an eyebrow and sat up a bit straighter, looking curious. "King Arthur requests your presence forthwith," Charming said stopping before him.

Bors, sitting with his sons and nephews, glanced over them. Bohort, Lionel, and Hector looked interested in this unexpected development. Lancelot and Bleoberis were giving their uncle a 'you're not seriously thinking about it' look. Bors frowned and turned to Charming. "Then I will attend him," he said with finality. Lancelot scoffed and went back to studying again. Charming nodded and returned to Arthur, who was already sweeping the room for the next king to be addressed.

"Galehaut," he said as Charming reached him, locking eyes firmly with the man. Galehaut frowned and bristled a bit before thinking the better of defiance.

"Bold move," Charming said.

"Wait, should I not have?" Arthur questioned a bit worriedly.

"You'll be fine. Leave this to me," Charming replied as he went towards the man. He stopped before him and said in a firmer and more authoritative tone than he'd used with Bors, "King Arthur commands your presence forthwith." Emphasis on 'commands', which was a term he'd thus far refrained from using on any other king. But given Galehaut's… distaste for Arthur, it was probably the best term to use to drive it home to him.

Galehaut's fingers drummed on the table in slight agitation. "Very well," he finally relented. Charming bowed in acknowlegeent and returned to Arthur.

Arthur looked uncertainly in the direction of Nentres and Uriens, who were starting to pay attention now, noticing the pattern of kings being confronted by Arthur's servant. Morgan, at Uriens' side with Ywain, and Yvain, looked vagutly curious. Nentres sat up a bit straighter, frowning. Galeschin, at his father's side, looked interested. Uriens appeared appalled. Arthur turned uneasily to Charming, but Charming seemed unpertubed, going directly towards them. "King Arthur…" he began.

"Can go screw himself," Uriens sharply cut off.

"How precious that you think you have a choice," Charming cooed condescendingly. "I'll rephrase. You meet with him, or your sons will be the first to get thrown over the wall to the goblins when they come." Uriens shot to his feet, instantly entering murder mode and whipping out his sword. Morgan's eyes narrowed darkly, and she pulled Ywain closer to her while sliding Yvain away a little. Yvain looked struck and Ywain jerked free of his mom, giving her a defiant scowl and going to his brother, hugging him. Morgan frowned at him but relented.

"Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa," Arthur hurriedly said, scrambling over before Uriens could lose it and Morgan could tag-team Charming with her magic. "No one's getting their sons thrown to goblins! Seriously Charming?!"

"There's your lesson on the kind of king _not_ to be. And why a king should not always be relying on messengers to deliver his messages," Charming said. "Now, bargaining, go." Charming backed away and Arthur was left blinking blankly and wondering how and why he'd walked into that. He winced and turned uneasily to Uriens and Nentres.

Uriens was pale, eyes filled with fear and darting quickly to his children before nervously going to Arthur. What had Arthur's servant meant by goblins coming, and why had the man seen it fit to threaten to throw his children to them first?! And what was this 'first' nonsense?! What was happening? Arthur felt like total crap when his brother-in-law's panicked look fell on him. He almot _wanted_ Uriens to go at him, in fact. "Uriens, no one's sons are getting thrown to goblins," he said in an effort to pacify and soothe his trapped looking brother-in-law. Uriens, still subtly shivering, was valiantly trying to mask the display of blatant weakness but failing.

"They take children and eat them or torture them or turn them into one of them or skin them…" Uriens began, still looking panicked. "Who the hell threatens to toss babies to those things?!"

"We're not babies!" Ywain protested, totally missing the point.

"He's talking out hi backside. It won't happen! Not to Ywain or Yvain or Galeschin or any child here if I have anything to say about it, but I need your cooperation, man! If you and Nentres still have armies hidden out there, they could make or break this for us," Arthur said quickly.

"Make or break _what_?! What the hell is happening Arthur?! The hell are we talking about goblins and armies and battles and children for?!" Uriens demanded.

Arthur winced, debated whether to dodge the question or not, then sighed, deciding that if there was any chance of his winning over his brothers-in-law, it was in the truth. "Look, a few days ago a goblin was spotted wandering near Worcestershire. Far, far from any goblin den. Or so we thought. It was… it was scouting," he said. "It's a long story, but the source that told me all this is reliable. Enough. To sum it up they're, um… kind of looking to replenish their dwindling numbers."

"By stealing our children and turning them into more goblins," Nentres realized, eyes widening in shock at this news.

"Yeah. And if we don't do something about this fast, things aren't going to end well," Arthur continued. He was kind of glad they were trusting him on this and not asking for details. A bit surprised too, but he guessed they figured he had no reason to lie about something like this. "Look, without your armies I can't guarantee those things won't breach the walls. I mean we can hide the children away in the safest place we possibly can on campus, but that's not a guarantee they won't be found anyway! If a goblin got that close to Worcestershire, which is supposed to be far from any goblin den, then they may have a tunnel around here. They may be digging their way right _into_ Worcestershire, in fact, or be planning to. They know there are children here ripe for the picking, and I don't want _any_ kid, let alone my own nephews, being taken away by them and used to rebuild their forces."

Uriens, eyes wide, looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack now as the truth of those words struck him upside the head. Those things were tunnelling towards the school. They might be trying to tunnel _into_ the school. Those things that would… "Goddammit," Uriens said, rubbing his hand down his face and looking over at his sons, covering his mouth. "God fu…" He trailed off, looking over his options. "Okay. I'll join you and the others," he finally and quickly said.

"And I," Nentres said, eyes fixed on Galeschin. Any hope of his wife ever forgiving him were out the window if his son ended up dead… Any hope of his forgiving _himself_ was… His life was built around Galeschin and Elaine. Losing them both? He wouldn't survive it. He'd probably fall on his sword and just get it done with.

"Okay. Thank you," Arthur said gratefully before turning to leave. He was probably overstaying his welcome with Nentres and Uriens as was. He paused and looked back. "Uh, Morgan, you have any idea where Alisander is?"

"You think he'd care about this? Yeah right," Morgan said, scoffing.

Arthur winced. Yeah. Figured. "Maybe you're right," he said with a sigh.

Morgan was quiet, watching her brother silently. "Alexander stays with Soredamer in Tintagel House," she finally said. "You find him anywhere, it'll probably be there." Arthur nodded his thanks and turned to leave only to freeze in place. Coming through the doors was a worried looking Alexander! Alexander caught sight of him, paused, then headed right over. Which meant the guy had been looking for him, probably, which meant he'd heard he was gathering up all the kings. He was low-key glad Alisander was taking the initiative.

"Were you going to tell me about this at all?" Alexander demanded. Which was not what Arthur was expecting. The guy sounded angry and slightly offended, which meant damage control, so Arthur leapt on it.

"I was just heading out to look for you," Arthur replied. "I hesitated because I wasn't sure you could be bothered with Brittania's problems on top of your own lanc's, but I was going to find you."

"Why would I not be interested?" Alexander demanded.

"W-well, I mean, it's not like you have a lot of stakes here, right?" Arthur said.

Alexander glared, looked like he wanted to argue the remark, then sighed, letting it go. "Whatever. Do you want me there or not?" he asked, a bit agitated.

"If you want to be, then yes!" Arthur replied. "Sheesh, you don't have to get testy."

Alexander gave a frustrated sigh. "Sorry," he said. It was kind of hard to tell if he meant it or not. "Just tell me when and I'll be there. Contrary to popular belief, apparently, I actually _do_ have a vested interest in Worcestershire." Arthur nodded in agreement...

KAK

"How did they make it this far so quickly and go so unnoticed?" Bors the Elder, asked at the very start of the council of kings. And Charming, who Arthur had apparently decided to attach himself to. Goodness knew he needed the prince about now. This was like really, really daunting for him. He'd never felt more awkward and was already starting to rapidly shut down, eyes wide and mortified and unsure.

"They might have a cave opening nearby or hidden," Pellinore said in deep concern. "And if they do…"

"That means trouble. The sort we don't need," Alisander finished, grimacing.

"Back straight, head up," Charming murmured to Arthur. "Look poised." Arthur followed the instructions, swallowing a little nervously. He really, really wished he had an opening line to speak. "It goes without saying that…" Charming supplied quietly, as if knowing the boy's thoughts.

Arthur gave him a nervous look then turned back at the others and cleared his throat. "It goes without saying that… that the goblins are a threat that can't be ignored. Their tunnels, for all we know, come almost to our doorstep. There's no other way they could have come on us so suddenly and silently, or travelled so far in such a short time. We need ideas. We need a plan. So, let's talk and share our thoughts about what we can do." Huh, that had come easier than he'd thought after he had an opening. He began to relax a little bit.

"Can you summon your men from here?" King Bors asked, looking at Nentres and Uriens.

"No," Nentres replied. "I usually rely on a horn to sound the clarion call, but I left it behind last time I went out to check on them. I thought a messenger would be good enough if I needed them again. I didn't expect a goblin nation to be creeping up on the school. I think we've given them too little credit for their organizational abilities."

"And it's biting us in the backside now," Uriens flatly said. "They can't come out in the day. It hurts them. If messengers could be sent out early in the morning to try and make it to our battalions before dark, then they would come and be able to catch the things by surprise from behind. Assuming those messengers made it to our men alive. It's just a matter of who's dumb enough or reckless enough or boisterous enough to play courier. That's something we'll have to figure out as soon as possible."

"We also need to find where the goblins are coming from. If we can seal their exit, it will slow them down. Perhaps even force them back," Alisander said.

"Merlin?" Arthur offered hesitantly.

"If you can talk the kook into it," Pellinore said, grimacing at the thought of the man.

"If anyone can talk Merlin into it, it's me," Arthur said. He was probably among the guy's favorite people in the whole school, if not _the_ favorite.

"So Uriens' battalion and mine come from behind while the school holds their attention in the front. After we drive them off, assuming we do, Merlin follows from behind and closes up their tunnel. Then what? They're still alive and they'll still burrow their way underground if their ultimate goal is the school, and that can't happen," Nentres said.

"What was Dinadan really doing down there with the jousting team anyway?" Bagdemagus asked, frowning. "A mere cave exploration shouldn't have warranted this much hostility."

Arthur grimaced and shifted. "He, uh… promised a goblin queen in Far Far Away that he'd find her a mate if she let him and Lucan and Agravaine go free?" he said.

"Oh, well, wonderful. A goblin alliance straight through from Far Far Away to Worcestershire. Nothing could _possibly_ go wrong! Oh gods, I'm starting to sound like Gareth," Alexander said, grimacing.

"You would have made him proud with that one," Nentres said, smirking.

"Are we looking at potential extermination?" Bagdemagus asked seriously. Silence fell. "It may be the only way," he spoke up, when he saw no one else was willing to go there. Still silence.

"Does anyone realize that some of those goblins were once _children_?" Uriens quietly, and a little sadly, asked after a moment.

"And if there was anything left of the children they once were within them, I wouldn't have spoken," Bagdemagus said, putting a gentle hand on Uriens' shoulder.

"But what if…?" Uriens began. He trailed off with a shaky sigh, running a hand through his hair. What if Bagdemagus was wrong…?

Arthur suddenly looked totally deflated and completely depressed. He damned Uriens for bringing that reminder up. "Magic? Potions? …Anything…? Is there _really_ no way?" Arthur asked.

Charming shifted slightly, uncomfortable with the depressive funk that had fallen over the room. "Faery magic, perhaps," he spoke up, knowing it was out of turn but feeling this inexplicable urge to at least try and put in his two cents worth for this conversation. They all looked at him quickly, eyes wide and, if possible, more distressed. "Merlin's magic could perhaps… highlight, which of them used to be children. You could… work towards capturing those ones alive… But it would take nothing short of faery magic in its purest form to make them what they once were… And even if you managed, there's no telling how long they've _been_ goblins. For all you know, had they lived natural lives they would have died hundreds of years ago… For all you know their parents and families don't even exit anymore… The fae give both blessing and curse. The blessing? Restoring their humanity. The curse? Every what if that's left over…" There was quiet as the kings exchanged uneasy looks.

"If anyone can give even a single argument that justifies keeping them alive, speak now," Bagdemagus soon said, putting it upon himself once more to say what no other king here wanted to say.

"Basic humanity?" Uriens said.

Bagdemagus glanced over at him, then out the window. "That isn't good enough this time," he finally said. Uriens winced and gave a hesitant look at Arthur like he wanted to plead with him, but then swallowed whatever he'd wanted to say and turned away.

Arthur, though, was aleady frantically searching for any excuse to not give this order. He didn't know where the words had come from, but the second he said them he felt a huge weight lifted off him. "There've been people in this school, students, who've lost loved ones to those creatures… I want to know _their_ feelings about this. This is their decision to make, not ours." He looked at Charming. "And I want to know how this fairy magic _you're_ talking about works."

 _Later_

After the kings finished discussing the goblin situation, Arthur took it upon himself to go seek out a certain student whom he recalled Villiers saying had lost loved ones to the goblins. Namely Geraint, aka Erec. Except it wasn't just him going, as he'd planned it to be, and now he was stuck in awkward city because Uriens of all people had deigned himself to join him on his little escapade. Yeah. Uriens of Gore, the guy who was at his throat like ninety percent of the time, had willingly and in fact insistingly volunteered to come along. And it wasn't a trap. Uriens felt the awkward too because neither him or Arthur were really looking at each other, just wandering in a weird quiet.

The young king looked around and spotted Pelleas napping on the grass. Which could be promising, because Pelleas had combat class with Geraint. "You know if Pelleas and Geraint are on okay terms?" he asked Uriens.

"Why do you think I know these things? I'm a part-timer. You were literally full-time here before being spirited off to Far Far Away," Uriens replied.

Arthur flushed a bit. "I didn't pay attention," he replied. "Not like I knew either of them very well. They stayed under the radar like a lot of people I never noticed apparently did."

Uriens rolled his eyes. "Why don't you just ask him? Or do you not want more contact with people than absolutely necessary, 'majesty'?"

Arthur frowned at his brother-in-law and hesitated. Soon, though, he shifted and moved towards his sleeping schoolmate. "Pelleas?" he asked as he neared. Pelleas didn't awaken. "Hey Pelleas," Arthur said, shaking the other.

Pelleas snorted awake, rapidly blinking, and looked quickly over. He smiled on seeing who it was. "Arthur, hi," he chirped cheerily, sitting up and rubbing an eye. "What's up?"

"Do you know where Geraint, err Erec, is?" Arthur asked.

"Geraint? No," Pelleas replied. "I don't know him all that well. You'd have better luck asking Sagremore. Oh wait! I actually _might_ know where Erec is! He sometimes hangs out in the churchyard. Where the memorials of past students and teachers are."

"That seems… grim for him," Uriens said, raising an eyebrow. He didn't know the guy all that well, but that was more a dark clique thing to do, and Geraint was about the farthest from that you could get.

"Well yeah, but hey, a lot of us have lost people whose name are written there. Pretty sure he's no stranger to that," Pelleas said. "I mean, the guy lost his kid brothers, didn't he? At least that's what I heard. They just up and disappeared one day and never came back. Anyway, anything else you need? Just name it and I'm there."

"Uh no, thanks for the info," Arthur replied, turning and walking away. He gave a questioning look to Uriens. "What's his deal?"

"I have no clue," Uriens replied, grimacing. "He's a weirdo, leave it at that." Arthur frowned then sighed, letting it go. He had to focus on gearing up for this meeting with Erec thing anyway. He doubted it would be… easy, was the term he'd go with.

KAK

Sure enough, the churchyard was where Geraint was. Staring at a large stone on which were carved the names of those who'd had no bodies or ashes to bury… The ones who'd just disappeared… He reached out to it and gently fingered two of the names carved there. He let out a breath, bowing his head and sniffing, cloing his eyes and willing away tears. "Uh, excuse me? You-you're Geraint? Erec? Right?" a voice asked from behind.

Geraint winced, wishing he wasn't being bothered, but composed himself as best he could and turned around curiously. "What's it to…?" he began. He stopped, visibly startled. "Wait, you're Arthur," he said. He looked next to him and raised an eyebrow. "Any particular reason you're buddying around with one of the guys who wants your head on a platter?"

"There are bigger problems right now than Arthur, you little crap," Uriens replied.

"Ooh, look at Uriens, trying to play _big_ man on campus. Newsflash, creep, you don't _get_ to call me a little crap. You're two months younger than me. If either of us is calling the other a little crap, it's going to be me," Geraint said, smirking coldly at him.

"Up yours," Uriens replied with a sneer.

"Stop it, both of you! This is serious, okay? For the love of… we're in a churchyard! Show some respect," Arthur said. Both winced, looking cowed. Erec in fact looked briefly devastated and guilt-stricken before turning away and looking at the stone again, staring at it. Arthur and Uriens watched. Uriens became quiet and turned away, feeling awkward and guilty now. "Geraint? I… I wanted to talk to you… About an approaching goblin threat…"

"Why me?" Geraint asked with a sigh.

Arthur was quiet, trying to find the words to say. Fortunately, Uriens spoke _for_ him, carefully and quietly. "Because some of them were once children… And we learned that… that two of those children were your brothers…? Or were suspected to be?"

Geraint visibly winced, closing his eyes tight and hunching in on himself. He didn't speak. "They're making their way here," Arthur said. "To the school. The goblins… We're afraid that… that they're coming for the children… Some people believe the only option is genocide."

"Just… just do what you have to. I'll never get them back again anyway…" Geraint hollowly replied.

"Merlin can see the ones who were once children. He can highlight them, among the throngs. Then our option is whether to kill them with all the rest anyway, or take them alive," Uriens said quietly.

Geraint sniffed. "And what? Go on like they're still there? Keep them locked away and pretend a couple of goblin pets bound in my room were once my brothers and vainly hope they might be again?" he asked.

"No… Faery magic to cancel out faery magic," Arthur said quietly. "It's… it's a theory. A hope… My choice is giving them up or trying, but… but for every good a faery does, an evil is there too."

"We came to you because you're the only one we know for sure who might… might have a stake in this… And because they say that of everyone here, you'd be most likely to have kept a log of the children that disappeared and who might be among them? Then we could maybe find their families too and just… just try and see if they're willing to try…"

"I can't hope anymore just to be disappointed," Geraint said. "I can't go through that pain again, Arthur."

"You might not have to," Arthur said. "Isn't… isn't the possibility of seeing them again worth it?"

"You want a reason to say no to genocide. You want a reason to spare something that by no rights should be spared," Geraint said.

"Erec, if any part of the children they once were can be saved, then yes. I want a reason to try…" Arthur said.

"For two little boys you'd be willing to take a risk like that?" Geraint asked in wonder.

"Only the goblins who were once children would be spared. Then, even if the faery magic doesn't work, they'll still be contained and we can still… we can put them down if no other option is found… So yes. For two little boys, no, actually for all the little children that might have once lived and existed, yes. I'd take a risk like that," Arthur said.

Geraint was silent, looking conflicted. "I… I need to think about it," he finally said.

"Okay," Arthur said. He hesitated a moment. "Do… _do_ you have a log? Of names?"

Geraint looked at him and Uriens, then back at the stone. He set his jaw then sighed. "Follow me," he said, walking towards his dorm house.

KAK

Geraint pulled out a scroll from a shelf and stared at it a moment. "After my brothers… after they disappeared and after everyone gave up hope of finding them again, I tried to get Principal Pynchley to document them. Write their names down so they'd never really be forgotten… He said it wasn't worth it to. They were just a couple more names on a list to him. He told me he'd stopped keeping track of missing children long ago. I thought he was being a jerk then, but Pynchley wasn't psychotic. Not like that… I think he didn't keep track because it just hurt too much to do it… To look at the list and all those names and have to add more… But I wanted Dywel and Ermind to be remembered. They _had_ to be remember. I couldn't… I didn't want to give up on them… I felt I owed them at _least_ their memory for failing them. I should have been able to protect them…" His voice broke a bit and he closed his eyes, swallowing. "I told Pynchley if he wouldn't keep the log, then I would… So I did… I sent out messages, trying to find families of children who'd gone missing here. I looked into the archives and into Worcestershire history and log books, into incident reports, into everything… And piece by piece I managed to put together a list of memories and names of children from even centuries ago… And all those who disappeared after my brothers too…"

"Dare we ask how long that list is?" Uriens quietly questioned.

Geraint was quiet. He finally lay the scroll down and opened it. Arthur and Uriens approached and both of them winced at the number of names there. It was a lot, dating from even as far back as Worcestershire's founding a few _centuries_ ago… He'd even marked which children still had families somewhere. There weren't a lot of them. Most were orphans or forgotten children, or unwanted burdens given up or abandonned. Children who no one had even bothered to try and look for… But three names jumped out besides Geraint's… Those names were Leodegrance, Guinevere, and Sagremore. Arthur whispered a curse under his breath. Gwen had lost someone too…? His gut twisted uncomfortably inside of him. And Sagremore as well…

Uriens gently fingered the names. "How can people just foget?" he asked in a whisper, a burning feeling in his eyes he really wished didn't exist. Erec was quiet, staring. He didn't know…

"Maybe they didn't… Maybe some of the families couldn't be reached because grief won out over desire for life in the end," Arthur remarked quietly.

"I was almost one of those," Erec confessed quietly. There was silence as they read over the names. "I… I don't want to give up on them," he finally said in a whisper. "If there's a chance that-that faery magic can save them… But I don't want all the other children who might come back only to find nothing, suffering just because I want my brothers again. Find out how this will work. Then I'll decide." Arthur and Uriens were both quiet, but their agreement went without saying. Looked like he had to have a little chat with Charming again, Arthur wryly thought. Here was hoping the guy was still in a helpful mood…

KAK

Charming waited impatiently for Arthur's return, hidden away. He didn't believe he'd seen any of Arthur's little family, or anyone really, face-to-face since ending up here. Not without a disguise on. It was becoming redundant and humiliating. He practically slept the damn thing for goodness sake! The only time he wasn't in it was when he was in private with Arthur or by himself. He didn't even know why he kept it up. It wasn't like he'd turned all of Britain against him. Worcestershire probably didn't even know who he was! But keep it on he did nonetheless. Maybe… maybe it would be easier to just use a spell and give himself another appearance to the eyes of others… They'd see something totally different while he could go about as normal. He lifted his hand in front of him, looking at it, then grimaced and put it down a bit uneasily.

There was a knock and the door opened. Arthur peered in. "Charming, can we talk?" the boy asked, slipping inside and shutting the door.

Charming grimaced then put on a fake smile, turning around in his seat. "Of course, Arthur. What is it?" he asked.

"You said… you said fae magic could maybe cancel out the goblin thing?" Arthur remarked.

"It could undoubtedly do so, depending on how powerful a fae you went to," Charming replied.

"How… how would it work?" Arthur asked.

Charming was quiet. "Why are you asking me?" he soon asked.

"Oh, come on Charming, you were the son of the Fairy Godmother! You're half fairy, so don't even kid yourself into thinking you're not. You said she took it on herself to try and teach you some things, right?" Arthur said.

"Which I hardly paid attention to!" Charming replied. "I took after my father's side, not my mother's."

"Yet half-fae you are and half-fae you'll remain!" Arthur replied.

Charming glared at Arthur. Arthur glared evenly back. Finally, Charming sighed, letting his shoulders sag, and began trying to rack his brain for the lessons mumsy taught him when he was small, and she was still trying to get him to take after her. He shook his head, drawing a blank, then suddenly started. Wait… He hesitated then looked at Arthur again, who was waiting hopefully. "The spell will cancel out the curse, and those who once were children will become so again… But those who were supposed to have died long, long ago… They will fade into dust. As they should have had they lived natural lives. You will free them, and in a sense that will be a blessing, but also a curse… To see physically all the little ones that could once have lived… Could have _still_ lived, if they had just been given that option… Only the ones who would actually be alive at this point in time will exist, but they will return to humanity the ages they would have been had they not been trapped in the skin of the goblins. For some, their whole lives will be gone, wasted, and it will be devastating. They may even _ask_ to just die. Freedom, yes, but to a painful realization… Your consolation will be in the fact that those who were taken very recently will still be children and may still have families. Those families can then be reunited," he answered.

"Could Merlin tell which ones will return elderly and which ones will return young?" Arthur asked.

"There's only so much Merlin can do… I'm not entirely convinced that's one of the things he's capable of," Charming replied. "But then the old coot seems the sort to be full of surprises. I just wouldn't suggest banking on it."

Arthur nodded. "Can… can _you_ use the faery spell that will save them?" he asked.

Charming started, then looked a bit flustered and unsure, uneasily shifting. "Until I used that path finding spell to find your friends, I had never _used_ one of mumsy's spells. Her potions yes, her spells? Never. I would probably need her wand besides, for one that powerful, and I've _long_ lost that. I had it then it was gone and no one ever really returned it to me, so no. I doubt I could do any such thing."

"So, we need to search for the fae then," Arthur said, grimacing.

"Somene here is bound to know where they hide," Charming replied, shrugging.

"Yeah. You. You can't use your pathfinding to discover just one?" Arthur asked.

Charming was quiet again. "No. I can't," he finally said. More specifically, he had no intensions of doing so lest it led him to the blasted elf king again.

Arthur realized that Charming had taken too long to answer. Which meant he was probably lying, but the king got the feeling that no matter how hard he pushed, Charming wasn't going to do him that favor. "Thanks for nothing," he bit, turning and walking away agitatedly. Well, at least he had an answer to give Geraint now.

KAK

Erec listened to Arthur's explanation of the spell in silence. Uriens again hovered near. There was quiet when he'd finished speaking. "We just have to find a fae who may be willing to help," Arthur soon said by way of reassurance. "And we will."

After a moment, Geraint bowed his head. To see them again… He swallowed, closing his eyes. "If… if it's… I want to see my brothers again… But I don't want to feel hope only to be stabbed in the back by it again…" he said.

"Isn't the reward that would come of it worth the risk?" Uriens asked. Arthur nodded in agreement with him.

Erec was quiet. "Okay," he finally said. "Then… then save them… I want to, _need_ to, see Dywel and Ermind again…"

"Then it's settled," Arthur said. He looked at Uriens. "That's dealt with. Now we just have to hope we can one: find a willing fae, and two: get to your armies and Nentres' with the news in time."

"And Merlin's agreed to shut up the goblin hole?" Uriens asked.

"He hasn't yet, but he will. I'm going to see him pretty soon. Trust me. He'll do this for me," Arthur said.

"Forgive my skepticism," Uriens replied, scoffing. Arthur frowned, but let it go this time. There were more important things to worry about than a petty argument. First things first, he wanted to talk to Gawain about convincing the jousting team to help hunt down a fairy when they went out to… Why were they planning to go out again? Wait, Daniel! Dammit. Daniel was a priority. He'd have to tell Gawain to make that really clear to the jousting team, Hector, and Lionel. Dinadan wouldn't need that reminder and nor would Breunor or Sagremore. The fairy could be hunted down after Daniel was safe again. Okay, Gawain then Merlin. Here went nothing…

KAK

Gawain was seated up on the wall, looking out over the road hoping to see Daniel coming back. The final class had let out long ago and there was still no sign of him. Dinadan, Brunor, and Sagremore were all more than a little alarmed and were arguing with members of the faculty who'd spotted them attempting to ride out again. The faculty's argument was for them to leave it in their capable hands. The students' argument was that the faculty was going too slow and that if they'd waited for them to get moving to find Lancelot, Lance would be dead now. To which the faculty was taking exception, and the students were getting up in arms, and it was all just a mess. Gawain had just walked away until it was sorted out.

"Gawain!" he heard Arthur call. He looked over curiously and saw his uncle hurrying to him. He tilted his head curiously. "Can Lancelot find a fairy, do you think?" Arthur asked the moment he reached him. Flat out. With no explanation.

"Uh… what?" Gawain asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Trust me, it's better if you don't question it," Arthur said, grimacing.

"No, I'm pretty sure it's important that I question it," Gawain replied. "Why is having a fairy so important?" Arthur sighed, took a breath, then explained it all to Gawain, who listened in awe and disbelief. When Arthur was finished his explanation about the spell, and the possibility of freeing the children who'd been warped into those creatues, Gawain was quiet. After a long moment, he looked back out towards the road.

"Gawain?" Arthur asked a bit uncertainly. Why was his nephew suddenly so quiet?

Gawain closed his eyes. "Jessica," he finally said.

Arthur tensed up and was silent a long, shocked moment. "What?" he finally asked. Had… had he heard that right?

"Do you remember that day when you saw me alone in the ruins? I told you, then, that Jessica wasn't what I thought she was… Or who I thought she was…" Gawain said.

Arthur was quiet. "I remember," he finally confirmed.

Gawain shifted, wincing, then turned back to his uncle. "The night I slept with her… When I awakened, I saw something… something _wonderful_. Terrifying also… I saw the truth about what she was… Her real name isn't Jessica, Arthur. It's Blanchemal… And she's of the Fair Folk. A full-blooded fairy," he said.

Arthur's lips slowly parted in shock and horror as he let the words sink in. He couldn't quite comprehend this turn of events. "She…" he finally managed to begin, voice high and squeaky. He cleared his throat, looking a bit awkward. "She's a _fairy_?" he asked. Gawain nodded solemnly. "Wow… Why the heck would she choose _you_ of all people?"

"Screw you uncle," Gawain said, cheeks flushing slightly with anger and offense.

"Oh, come on, it's a legit question!" Arthur protested. "Yeah, you're cute, but cute enough to land a _fairy_?"

"Scew you!" Gawain repeated, scowling. "I'm trying to help here Arthur, in case you've forgotten. Seriously, don't make me regret it."

"Okay, okay, sorry," Arthur replied. He hesitated a moment. "Do… do you think she'll agree?"

"I don't know," Gawain answered with a sigh. "Pretty sure I was just her fu… fun time. I was totally going to say fun time." Arthur dryly smirked. They both knew he wasn't. You-know-what boy, was what he'd meant to say. "Maybe I have more sway over her now that she's, you know, carrying my half fae child, but there's no guarantee of that. It's equally likely she'll just run away or fly away or whatever, and I'll never even get to so much as _look_ at my baby before it's just gone."

Arthur was quiet. "At least try. Please," he pled.

Gawain was quiet. "Okay," he agreed after a moment. "I'll find you and Geraint when I'm done talking to her." Arthur nodded and left to join up with Geraint.

KAK

Gawain stood by his word and went immediately to Jessica. Blanchemal. To say he wasn't having a good time at it was an understatement. In fact, he was fast getting frustrated with the obstinate fairy he was dealing with. He took a breath, trying to calm down from their latest little fight. Damn the fair folk, he decided. Damn them all. "I'm not making a bargain to get you to do the decent thing, goddammit Blanchemal. You screwed me over once, in case you've forgotten, both literally and figuratively. Now you're pregnant with my half-fae child that you're probably going to end up keeping me from because you and yours are a pack of selfish pricks who could care less about mortalkind! Look, you owe me this, and it's the _least_ you owe me. It's not like it's any skin off your back!" he shot. He'd lost any modem of diplomacy at this point and was just plain playing hardball now. "It's fair folk screwing us over now, so it's fair folk who are going to help right this. And if it isn't you, fine. So be it. I'll find some other fae who actually has the common decency to do it."

"We do nothing without price," she replied coldly, eyes glittering and becoming decidedly not so… mortal-like.

"I became the father of a kid I didn't plan on having but that you, for whatever reason, wanted, and whose life you now probably don't even plan on letting me be a part of. So guess what? I don't owe you a price. You owe _me_ one. You owe me _everything_ if you take that baby from me on top of it all," he sneered. He knew better than to expect she'd stay. She'd hinted multiple times she wouldn't, since telling him of the pregnancy, and she generally meant what she said. "You told me you'd taken a potion, dammit!" She shifted. "The fae are bound to their word. You're no exception," he pushed, noting that she'd started to realize the truth of his words now.

She put on a smile, after a moment. "Gawain, you can so totally be part of its life," she said, touching his arm flirtily.

"You still owe me for the lie," Gawain replied, smirking bitterly. "And for putting me through this experience in the first place."

"I've paid you back by keeping the child instead of getting rid of it," she replied ominously. "Don't tempt me otherwise."

"You planned for that baby! Like hell you'd get rid of it!" Gawain snapped sharply. She wasn't jerking his chain around this time.

She scowled as she glared at him darkly. "Fine," she finally, and bitterly, relented. She knew she was trapped. "Fine…"

Gawain relaxed with a sigh. "Thank you," he said, tiredly but genuinely. Gods that had been a battle and a half. Blanchemal huffed and turned, marching off to join her girlfriends. Gawain winced and shook his head hopelessly. He needed to get back to Arthur and Geraint with the news, then meet up with the jousting team. They'd probably sorted out the expedition by now.

KAK

Arthur and Geraint watched from a distance as Gawain talked to Jessica. Well, Blanchemal apparently. Gawain looked like he was pleading, she looked cold but like she was starting to listen to him. Arthur winced. He hoped this worked. Soon Gawain seemed to relax. Blanchemal left, and Gawain walked away. Geraint waved him over.

"You good man?" Arthur asked in concern as Gawain reached them.

Gawain bowed his head. "No," he answered honestly. "But I'll get there eventually."

"She'll do it then?" Geraint hopefully asked.

"She'll try," Gawain confirmed. "Not sure her magic will be powerful enough, she's a comparatively young and inexperienced fairy, but maybe." Geraint grimaced uneasily. Well, at least it was better than nothing he guessed. He sighed and nodded in understanding. Gawain looked at Arthur. "Are you coming with us to help find Daniel?" he asked.

"Huh? Uh, yeah. Sure," Arthur replied.

Gawain nodded and looked over at Geraint. "What about you?" he asked.

"Under any other circumstance, maybe, but… but right now I'm just dealing with too much. Sorry," Erec replied.

"It's okay. You don't need to apologize for that," Gawain gently said.

Geraint nodded. "Good luck. I really hope you get Daniel back okay," he said. They nodded at him then left.

KAK

The jousting team, plus Hector, Lionel, and Dinadan, were preparing to go out again when Arthur and Gawain reached them. It was getting dark, so this would be dangerous, but they couldn't leave Daniel out there. Brunor, who was standing by Lancelot waiting for the others to finish getting ready, squinted towards the road with a frown before straightening up quickly. "Oh no," he said.

"What?" Lancelot asked, looking at him

"The bandits. They're here," Brunor whispered, pale now. Why would they be coming directly here, though, unless they had a message to send? …What if that message was his brother's head…? He felt sick at the notion.

Lancelot looked in the direction Breunor was staring and frowned. "I don't see…" He trailed off as figures began to step into the lamplight from the dusk. Uh oh… "Guys, get up here now!" he called down to the others. They looked up at him, curious, but soon joined him, looking down. A hush fell over them as the bandits neared the walls.

"Ooh… Oh boy," Dinadan said, wincing.

"What?" Arthur asked.

"Uh, y-you know the bandits Lucan, Agravaine, and I crossed back in Far Far Away? When we were trying to find Merlin to save Degore?" Dinadan said.

Arthur blinked. He had to be kidding. "No," he said flatly.

Dinadan winced, shifting. "Yes?" he replied sheepishly.

"Oh my god," Arthur said, covering his face and shaking his head. Just wow. Dinadan awkwardly cleared his throat, slipping back a little way so he wouldn't be immediately noticed. He was pretty damn sure the guy would remember him too.

The enemy force stopped, not far from the drawbridge. "Lower the bridge!" their leader called. None of them answered or moved to do so. "The more cooperative you are, the sooner we can be on our way. We want no more trouble than necessary."

"Lance?" Lionel uneasily asked his cousin. Lancelot was quiet.

"Is that the leader?" Hector whispered.

"Yes," Lancelot answered. "Mador de la Porte. Hector stiffened, looking nervously down at the man. The man was intently watching them, silently summing the group up. He looked back at his people and tossed his head in the direction of the drawbridge. Apparently it was a silent cue, because the next thing the students knew, they were gaping in horror at a bound, gagged, and blindfolded prisoner the men brought forward.

"Daniel," Sagremore instantly realized, numb with shock and now fear. "Lancelot," he desperately said, looking at the other.

Lancelot was quiet. He glared at the bandit chief. "Why should we trust you to keep your word?!" he finally shouted at them. They gave no response.

"Because we don't have a choice," Breunor spoke up numbly. Lancelot stiffened as the bandit chief drew a mace and moved to stand behind Daniel, ready to put him to death if they dared defy him.

Silence. "Fine. We'll play it their way," Lancelot finally, and begrudgingly, relented. He looked at Arthur. "Unless his 'majesty' protests," he all but sneered. Arthur didn't even acknowledge him, eyes on Daniel in concern.

"Come out to us. Just so we can be sure there'll be no resistance," Mador called up to them. No one moved. Finally, though, Dinadan headed down. Brunor followed him, then Sagremore. There was hesitation, but eventually the jocks went down one by one, lowered the drawbridge, and went to the bandits. They were immediately disarmed and lined up as they came.

Dinadan winced when Mador gave him a double take and blinked in disbelief. "In my defense, it was one of my partners that tricked you and held you up," he lamely defended. Mador glared darkly at him but didn't comment. Instead he tossed his head towards the school, saying to his men, "Take whatever prizes you wish."

"Women?" one of them hopefully asked. Immediately the boys tensed up, looking nervous.

"There are mostly teenagers here," another of the bandits immediately, and defensively, shot. Reynold, Lancelot knew.

" _Reynold_?" Galihoden said, and Lancelot winced. Apparently Galihoden remembered as well. Once _Galihoden_ remembered, suddenly it was clicking into place for most of the rest of them as well.

"Wait, what?! Wasn't he kicked out?" Sagremore asked.

"What did he do?" one of the bandits who obviously had a vested interest in Reynold—it was Kainus—asked.

"I let Lancelot sucker me into taking a punch for him," Reynold said instantly and defensively. "It backfired in all the wrong ways and next thing I know I'm banished, so let's not talk about it!"

"Seriously? That was _Lancelot's_ fault?!" Brandelis said.

"I wasn't the one who escalated it to the point anyone needed to be kicked out!" Lancelot defended. "If the guy had any modem of self-control he would have been fine."

"You have no idea what really went on, man. No one does!" Reynold shot. "And when I tried to explain they wouldn't listen because why the hell would Pynchley listen to some low-born schmuck like me when his star pupil would-be-prince was at risk?!"

"Enough!" Mador snapped sharply. "We aren't here to reminisce about your past, Reynold. We're here to take what we can and go!"

"Give us our brother," Brunor suddenly spoke up, glaring at Mador. Mador gave him an icy look. "We're giving you what you want. Now give us our brother," Brunor repeated again.

"Why he would want to return to those who forgot he was even there is beyond me. Little boys, until my men are back with their plunder, your brother won't be given back to you," Mador replied.

"No, no, he's-he's not our brother like that. He's literally _our_ brother. Mine and his," Dinadan spoke up flatly, pointing between himself and Brunor. Mador looked vaguely surprised to hear this, then looked them all over dubiously.

"What?" Galihoden asked, frowning at the scrutiny.

Mador looked back at him again. "You fought well together for ones who don't consider themselves brothers in arms," he said flatly. They shifted and stayed quiet. Mador turned to his men. "You will harm no girl on this campus. If you must take women, take adults for the love of the gods. If even one child is brought out, the man who holds her will be put to death without question." The bandits looked thoroughly spooked by the threat, wincing, and divided, some of them slipping onto campus without a word and the rest staying behind to guard the boys.

KAK

Arthur watched Daniel quietly, guilt pricking at him. He couldn't believe they'd just totally forgotten about him like they had! It made him feel like dirt. "He's not valuable to you anymore," Arthur said. "We'll keep our word, just let him go." Mador shot a look at Arthur and placed his mace against Daniel's head warningly. "At least tell me if you treated him well, if he's okay. Please," Arthur said, backing off the bargaining idea.

"Who are you to be so concerned for him?" Mador asked.

Arthur was quiet. "I'm… king of the student body," he said finally. Telling this guy he was the high king? Yeah, that wouldn't end well for him.

Sagremore, eyes fixed on Daniel, looked nothing short of miserable. "Will you at least let _me_ take his place?" Sagremore asked Mador quietly.

"What's this? Sagremore le Impetuous grow a heart while I was gone?" Reynold bit at him.

Sagremore shot him a glare and didn't grace him with an answer, instead turning back to Mador. "Please?" he lamely pled.

Mador stared at him silently, frowning a bit. "Mador!" one of the bandits who'd gone onto campus called out. Mador looked over, as did the others, and they gasped, paling. In the big blond man's grasp was Guinevere!

"Gwen!" Arthur and Lancelot exclaimed together in fear.

Mador's frowned deepened and he sighed. "I expected more from you, Sadok," he said, ruefully shaking his head. A pity. The man had been a favorite of his.

"That's not why I brought the girl. Don't you know who this is? This is the daughter of King Leodegrance!" Sadok said.

Mador's eyes widened. "Guinevere?" he asked.

Sadok nodded excitedly. "This girl could fetch us a fortune!" he stated.

Mador turned sharply to the students, all of them gawking at Gwen in concern. She was struggling to get away while scowling, but she wasn't screaming or looking overly alarmed. Fear was there, of course, though she tried to hide it, but she was being cooperatively silent. The girl probably thought it was defiance, but really all she was doing was helping them get away with this, Mador noted. "We'll give you back the boy for her," he said flatly to Arthur.

"I'll fetch a higher price for you than her!" Arthur immediately replied. Gwen froze, head whipping quickly over to Arthur in disbelief. What had he just said? Lancelot's mouth dropped as he looked at his rival.

"A student body king for a princess?" Mador asked. He sharply laughed. "Your opinion of yourself is exceedingly high."

"My name is Arthur. Maybe you heard of me. Recently crowned high king?!" Arthur snapped at him. Mador recoiled back. Sadok gawked in shock. Gwen jerked free in his moment of distraction. He didn't even try to grab her back, eyes fixed on Arthur. You could all but see the gold in his eyes. There was utter silence all around. Arthur held his ground. "I'm worth more to you than anyone else here could ever hope to be," he finally pushed again, stepping forward away from the protection of the knights-in-training, hoping to push Mador over.

"Arthur, what the hell?!" Kay protested.

"A good king protects and defends his people no matter what," Arthur said.

"A good king also lives so he can still _be_ there for the people who need him," Lancelot said almost too quietly to be noticed. Arthur looked back at Lancelot, who was looking away and not meeting his eyes. Given the way Hector winced and whimpered a bit, shrinking down, Arthur got the sick feeling that Lancelot had just referenced the father he rarely, rarely, _rarely_ ever talked about. He believed the guy's name had been, um… Ban? Yeah, that was it he was pretty sure. King Ban of Benwick… That was a hellish nightmare of a story if ever there was one… Once upon a time he'd pitied Lancelot. Until Lancelot had started being a total jerk to him.

Arthur looked at Mador, silently summing him up. "I feel like he'll be true to his word," he soon said. If the ransom was paid, that was. "Let Gwen go. And the others. You _literally_ only need me."

Mador watched Arthur quietly. "Come here, boy king," he finally said. Arthur swallowed and stepped towards him. Guinevere straightened up, eyes slowly widening. He was… actually doing this? Arthur reached the man, who seized his arm tightly. Mador let Daniel go, pushing him forward onto the ground. Sadok went to the boy and pulled him up, bringing him over to his brothers and thrusting him into their arms. He retreated once more to stand at Mador's side.

"A king's ransom… This sort of prize is one _every_ bandit stives for," Mador said, smirking down at Arthur who glared at him. "Thank you, 'your majesty' for your complete cooperation."

"That's not to say _we'll_ cooperate," Bedivere said, looking like he'd go fisticuffs with these men if he had to. Not that they'd stand much chance even if they _did_ all gang up against these guys. After all, the bandits were still armed. Mador scowled at Bedivere, getting ready to order his men to fight, when suddenly they heard sounds from the darkness and tensed, looking towards them. Eerie noises that didn't belong… Unnatural ones… Suddenly they could spot dark figures, obscured by the dusk, scrambling towards them in the distance, crawling over each other and under each other and chattering and growling and cackling cruelly like a living wave!

"Oh my g…"Galihoden began, eyes widening in fear.

"It's them! It's the goblins!" Lancelot exclaimed, pointing. "Get inside, now!"

Mador and his men hesitated, shifting uneasily as all the others raced in. Gwen stayed put, watching with wide eyes that were fixed uncertainly on Arthur. "Mador, you can't take them! Not with just your men!" Arthur said, immediately struggling to pull free from the chief. "You have to get inside, or they'll kill all of you!" Mador looked uneasily at Arthur, then back at the charging mega-swarm. "Mador, please! Maybe it's exchanging one fate for another, but would you seriously rather be skinned and eaten alive by _those_ than locked up for a while?!"

"You have no idea the fates we face as prisoners," Mador shot.

"Maybe not, but I sure as hell know the fate you and your guys face by _them_!" Arthur replied, pointing at the hoards.

Mador looked quickly over again, visibly shaken and nervous now. He glanced at his men, who were starting to cower and look afraid. He grimaced, shifting, then shouted, "Inside, all of you! Now!" They didn't even wait for him to finish before they were booking it behind Worcestershire's walls. Arthur and Mador followed them. Gwen ran inside with the two, and the drawbridge was immediately raised.

"Sound the alarm! Hurry!" Arthur shouted. Bleoberis hustled up onto the walls and seized the rope of a large bell. He began to pull it loudly, the sound clanging and echoing over all the campus. Candles and torches were lit as confused students and teachers began to awaken. Shouts of 'attack' and 'in danger' began to spread rapidly, and soon the campus was in chaos as everyone scrambled to get ready for whatever onslaught was coming. Arthur ran up onto the parapet with Mador and looked down in horror as the goblins full on tackled the walls and began trying to climb up them!

"Dammit!" Mador shouted. "Rearm the boys then get up here, now!" he shouted down to his men. They all but threw the jousting team's weapons at them, then raced up onto the walls, shooting frantically own at the goblins without an order. It wasn't long before the jousting team and other students, and even teachers, were joining them to keep the goblins down.

"We just have to hold them until day," Lancelot called over. "The light is their weakness. They'll scramble then!"

"It's surviving for that long that's the concern!" Arthur called back. Uncertainty was palpable in the air…


	18. Trials and Reunions

Trial and Reunions

(Final A/N: And finally the last chapter. I'm not entirely happy with it personally, but I may be overly hard on myself. There are a lot of names given near the end. They don't have to be remembered right now. I've begun to work on bios for the Knights of the Round Table, to help keep them straight in the minds of readers, so future story formatting should be a big help to everyone. I'll put the bios of the focus characters at the start of the story, or at the start of the chapters. Also if there's anything else you're having trouble keeping track of, let me know and I can write up some guide for that too. Might have a whole story that's a guidebook to this series in fact. Thank you all for your reviews and support. They help to give me ideas when I'm stuck. Enjoy.)

They'd done it. Somehow, they'd held out to the morning. The goblins had scattered! The students were beyond exhausted, all of them, and trudged into the assembly hall tiredly. The whole school had been out fighting, given the amount of goblins there had been. Boys, girls, kids, everyone. The good news was they'd thinned out the crowd a huge chunk so if they came again tonight it wouldn't be so bad, in theory. The bad news was now there were a whole crapload of goblin corpses outside the gates that needed to be cleaned up pronto or they'd start rotting and stinking. The good news was the teachers ordered everyone to get some sleep after they ate, and that the faculty would take care of said corpses. The bad news was said faculty would then be dog-tired tonight and not on the top of their games, necessarily, so students would have to pick up the slack. The good news was they'd… won? Kind of? The bad news was they weren't sure they'd _keep_ winning. The strength of the goblins wasn't in their physical power, unless they were a king or queen or elite goblin guard. Their strength was instead in their sheer numbers. _'Damn things multiply like rabbits,'_ Lancelot has bluntly stated, so yeah… It was a pretty dour atmosphere going on here.

Arthur was sitting beside Charming. The prince had been forced out to fight just like everyone else, and was now sulking and nursing a gash on his arm that Arthur had accidentally given him. Which had nearly gotten the boy tossed over the walls. The young king scanned the room and grimaced. Mador had sequestered himself and his own as far away from everyone else as possible, looking like a caged animal. And no wonder. It wasn't like the school was going to let a whole bandit group go back to business as usual when they literally had them in their clutches. Mador and his men weren't getting out of here without a fight. It looked like they were seriously considering fighting their way out too, Mador foremost among them, but Mador didn't have just himself to look out for. The only reason the guy was refraining from attacking, probably, was because he wanted to keep his men alive and well, which… was kind of admirable, actually. Arthur had to admit he was sort of impressed. He'd always figured bandits for total scum, but seeing _this_? He was starting to suspect maybe it wasn't so black and white as that. Pellinore and Bagdemagus were trying to discuss the details of Mador's incarceration with the guy, so they definitely weren't helping matters.

Arthur looked at Charming and winced on seeing him bleeding through his bandages. "Uh, s-sorry. Again. About that," he said. Charming didn't even grace him with a response, rolling his eyes and continuing to eat. "It was an accident, okay?!" he defended.

"An accident like that will get you or people you care about killed dead," Charming bit sharply, shooting him an annoyed look before going back to his food. "You are sorely lacking self-control."

"Coming from you?" Arthur bit.

"In swordplay, Arthur!" Charming snapped, fighting to keep his voice quiet so as not to draw more attention than was already being drawn.

"I'm sorry!" Arhur said again.

"Yes, well try telling that to a corpse," Charming retorted.

Arthur winced and looked down a bit ashamedly. The guy had a point, as much as he hated to admit it… Just then Arthur caught Gwen's eyes and froze. She was watching him. On seeing that she'd been noticed, she looked quickly away. Arthur blushed and looked a bit hopeful. Was it his imagination, or had her eyes really been on _him_? Ugh, no, wait, getting distracted. He turned to Charming. "I… want to talk to Mador. Catch him up on what's going on, maybe give him a break from being cornered by Pellinore and Bagdemagus. Can you…?"

"Say no more," Charming said.

Arthur nodded. "Don't screw up with him like you almost did with Uriens," he hissed at Charming. "Why do you think I can afford to take tests like that right now?"

"You won't always get to choose what tests you face as king, Arthur," Charming replied, leaving him to go to Mador, who eyed him darkly. Pellinoe and Bagdemagus, on seeing Charming approaching, grimaced and moved reluctantly aside. But if this man was coming with a message from Arthur, Arthur's will superceded their own. "You will meet with the high king," Charming said to the bandit flat out. "And before you get it into your fool head you have any right to refuse, think seriously about what you are, where you are, and who you're surrounded by."

Mador glared darkly at Charming. "It seems I have no choice," he bitterly relented.

"No, you don't. Good on you for realizing it instead of backtalking like the teenaged brat king back there did," Charming said, jerking a thumb at the nearby Uriens. Uriens, hearing this, started and scowled at him. Arthur sighed and face-palmed, shaking his head. Nentres covered his mouth to stifle a chuckle. Uriens shot him a dark and dagger look. Nentres just smirked and turned away from him to try and hide his amusement.

KAK

Mador had to admit, it was a welcome respite to be able to face this 'high king'—a boy of all things—alone without anyone breathing down his neck. Relief became agitation, though, as Arthur explained to him what was going on. "So what we need is someone to bring a message out to Nentres and Uriens' armies, and then maybe we'll have a shot, but… no one here wants to volunteer for it. No one's dumb enough or brave enough to, I guess."

"Sadok," Mador flatly said. Arthur looked quickly at him, curious. "Sadok the Blond is my right hand. He's boisterous and optimistic, overconfident but not unrealistic. He's a good motivator and good at putting people at ease, assuring them everything is going to be fine however unlikely that seems. He isn't dumb, but he's brave and capable. A stubborn German, if ever there was one. He will do this for me. He'll see there is little other choice… But I don't want him to be sent alone… Let him select whomever he wants to bring with him to deliver this message. As long as they won't screw him over, slow him down, or minimize his efficiency."

Arthur was quiet, thinking. "Okay," he finally relented. "I'll agree to that. If whoever he picks is willing to go with him, so be it." Mador read Arthur quietly. Finally, he nodded. "Um… thanks, Mador… Didn't honestly expect cooperation, to be honest."

"This, unfortunately, is a situation we're all in together," Mador said. "And if we can't help each other, or won't, then we're all doomed. I'll talk to Sadok and send him to choose his companions." Arthur nodded.

KAK

"Y-you want _me_ sir?" Daniel said to the bandit Sadok, staring at him with wide and shocked eyes.

"My boy, you went undetected into a bandit camp despite fighting against us just prior, and we did not even suspect!" Sadok said, clapping his back hard and almost knocking him down. "You are perfect!"

"You aren't going anywhere alone with my little brother!" Dinadan immediately protested, mouth agape in disbelief.

"Here, here!" Breunor immediately backed. "You take him, you take us!"

"Can you fight?" Sadok asked.

"Uh, yeah," Breunor replied.

"Can you sneak?" Sadok asked.

"Can _you_?" Dinadan bit. The man wasn't exactly small of build. He towered over Daniel and Breunor, who were both still growing, and was bigger than him _too_. He was done growing, mostly—he doubted he'd get very much taller at least—and Sadok was _still_ a head or two higher.

Sadok laughed boisterously clapping Dinadan's back this time, causing him to gasp in pain and surprise. "I like this one," he said. He gathered all three into his arms. "I like _all_ these ones!" They gasped for breath, being crushed a bit in his embrace. He let them go. "Come then. Your company will be most appreciated. What are your names?"

"Dinadan, Breunor le Noir, and Daniel von dem Bluhenden Tal," Dinadan replied, gesturing to himself and his brothers as he gave their names.

"German, wundabar!" Sadok said. "I am also German! We will get along famously dear boys!" The three brothers exchanged unsure looks, not quite certain what to make of this Sadok.

Elsewhere, the faculty was getting ready to go out and collect the goblin bodies. Merlin lingered nearby. "Do you want me to show you which ones were children?" he asked after a moment.

They paused a long moment. "There were once-children among them, then?" Pellinore finally said. Merlin didn't directly answer. They'd take it as a yes. There was a long moment of silence. "When the bodies are inside, where the students can't see, show us. We'll separate the corpses, and the fairy Jessica… Blanchemal… can do her work. Then, whatever bodies may be left we can properly bury." Merlin nodded in understanding. No one else needed to know what they saw.

KAK

When the gates were opened for the faculty to go out and start cleaning up the goblin corpses, Sadok took Din, Dan, and Brunor out. Dinadan looked uneasily towards the forest, then back at the walls of the school. Tristan was there watching after them, he saw. He was joined soon by Sagremore and Bleoberis. Well, at least there were _some_ people worried about them, he wryly thought.

"Do you think we can make it to the armies in time? Before tonight? Before the goblins catch us?" Breunor asked Sadok a little uncertainly.

"The goblin focus will be on your school, not on finding wanderers. As long as we avoid any patrols, stay quiet, stay alert, stay quiet, be on the guard, and stay quiet, we will be fine," Sadok assured. "Have I mentioned stay quiet?"

"You-you may have brought it up in passing," Brunor flatly replied, looking unimpressed.

Sadok laughed, clapping him on the back and making him gasp and stagger a bit. His brothers winced. Well _that_ looked painful. "That is the spirit! The kings and Mador have their plans, little ones. This battle is as good as won!" he said.

"We're not little!" Brunor immediately protested in indignation.

Sadok laughed. "What senses of humor!"

"Screw you man!" Brunor said, if possible now even _more_ indignant.

"Well he's not wrong," Dinadan said, smirking.

"Screw you too! He called you little also," Brunor said.

Dinadan grimaced at that and frowned a bit. Point made. "You realize I'm going on twenty in a few months, right?" Dinadan grumbled to Sadok.

"Oh, you are littler than I thought," Sadok said, grinning at him. "Ah boy, if I were not a bandit and thus your enemy, or at risk of being executed or imprisoned when this little nightmare is over, I would take you upon your knighthood at twenty-one, out for a night on the town like you have never had! Get you drunk on brews that will put hair on your chest, lavish you with more wenches than you could count…"

"What, you think I haven't done that on my own already?" Dinadan asked, perking up a bit and grirnning mischeviously at him. Sadok blinked then laughed, clapping him on the back as he had for Breunor. Dinadan staggered a little, but honestly it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. He straightened up, brushing his tied back hair over his shoulder again, and grinned. Okay, maybe this guy wasn't so bad.

"Um, sir, what do you mean at risk of being executed or imprisoned?" Daniel asked.

Sadok became a bit more serious, grin disappearing and becoming a rueful, maybe slightly bitter, smile. "I am a bandit, boy. All of us. You think they will let us, upon victory, just walk back out and return to our fort to continue our pillaging and plundering and robbing? Nay. By law a bandit's life is forfeit the moment he is taken in. Beheaded or hung or any manner or unsavory execution means. Torture sometimes previous to death, to try to get him to give up the location of others. They have Mador, so I hardly need worry about torture, but death, my boys… That is another matter. By law the kings are obliged to put us all to death now that we are at their mercy. I believe that helping them with this goblin problem will spare us execution, but not necessarily our lives. If they refrain from executing us, then the next likely thing is life imprisoned in the dungeons, and that is hardly life at all. I would take execution over it any day, unless there was a chance of getting out of prison early."

Daniel shifted, obviously uncomfortable with that reality. "Mador's probably working out a deal for you all," Dinadan brushed off. "The kings in this school are, uh… at least _overall_ reasonable. You'll be shown more mercy than you think for helping with this goblin issue, probably."

"Perhaps," Sadok said, sighing. Truth be told, though, he was more concerned for Mador than he was for himself or any of the others. A bandit chief alive was a prize indeed. "Err, what king exactly rules this land here?" he asked.

"Worcestershire is a neutral ground. I don't think it's technically ruled by _anyone_ ," Dinadan replied. "If it is, _I_ have no clue who. I don't pay attention. Want a blanket idea? Arthur. Arthur technically rules like everything. High King. Probably better to appeal to him anyway. Why go through the middle man when you can go right to the top?"

"And that's why rebellions are started," Daniel said, grimacing. "You can't just pretend no other king exists, Din. If they start to feel overlooked or powerless, then they get antsy and then bad things happen."

"Sometimes you don't have a _choice_ but to go over their heads, baby brother," Dinadan said. "Shows you're really willing to fight for it."

"If you've gone through the process of climbing the ladder of the hierarchy first. Going straight to the top just seems entitled," Daniel said.

"You're too passive for your own good," Dinadan.

"Well you're too aggressive!" Daniel replied, frowning.

"And I'm just right," Brunor said, smirking at his brothers' argument. They both shot him dirty looks, but let it go.

KAK

"We're _what_?" Reynold asked Mador in disbelief.

"Going with the wizard to help seal the goblin cave," Mador said firmly, not backing down.

"Are you flipping kidding me?" Reynold asked. "Mr. Merlin's a nut job! He'll probably end up zapping me and Cai into oblivion 'accidentally'."

"Mr. Merlin knows the consequences of misbehaving, and he doesn't want them," King Bagdemagus said, rolling his eyes at the two bandit boys.

"If you're so sure about that, why not send along _your_ pride and joy with us?" Reynold bit with a sneer.

Bagdemagus's expression darkened. "Who's his pride and joy?" Kainus questioned.

"His son, Prince Meleagant. One of the biggest tools _in_ this dump," Reynold answered, glaring challengingly at Bagdemagus.

"Oh?" Mador asked, intrigued with this detail.

"This discussion is over," Bagdemagus flatly said. "You're going. Not only is it _my_ order, but Mador's as well. Now get moving before it gets dark and you're too far out to save."

"Reynold, come on," Kainus firmly said. "Enough of this defiant act. Mador's helping them of his own accord. You don't have to play it tough."

Reynold seemed to almost deflate at the words, and Bagdemagus winced at the fear that came to the boy's eyes. The utter dread. "You'll be alright," the king found himself saying before he could think. "I promise. Merlin will take care of you and Cai both."

Reynold was quiet, looking away. "He's more scared of what happens after this is done…" Mador said, tone softer than normal. "Both are."

Bagdemagus was quiet. The sentence that would come on the bandits when this was through, he knew… "You'll be alright," he finally said.

"What about the others?" Reynold asked a bit hollowly. "What about Mador?" Mador started and looked deeply touched for a moment, but quickly buried it under the rough exterior.

"I wish I could give you promises, boys, but I can't," Bagdemagus said.

"Don't worry yourselves for me," Mador added. "Now go. Quickly."

"Come on kiddies, we're on our way!" Merlin said, pointing ahead and marching onward.

Uneasily and reluctantly, Reynold and Kainus followed him. "So, I'm still not clear on this plan. _What's_ happening?" Reynold asked as they went.

"So, Sadok takes his little posse out to find the armies of kings Uriens and Nentres, who will pretty well beat this _for_ us. Thing is it'll probably take a while for them to get here unless they're quick. In the meantime, we three find the goblin tunnel and block the exit so they have to start over or are at least slowed down. There'll be probably another night of fighting that Worcestershire absolutely has to do. It's up to _us_ to make sure there isn't a third," Merlin said.

"There was something about wanting you to cast a spell? More than just blocking a cave," Kainus said.

Merlin paused a moment, grimacing. "Yeah," he said. "There is."

"Well?" Reynold pressed, frowning at his aversion.

Merlin shifted. "You know where some goblins come from, boys?" he asked after a moment.

"Other goblins? Like everything else?" Kainus replied.

"Partially," Merlin replied. "But… there's another way they come to be."

"What is it?" Kainus asked, curious.

Merlin shifted. "Sometimes they'll find lost children in the woods, or catch them or kidnap them, and they bring the children back to their dens… From there one of three things happen. They're either skinned and eaten, killed, or… or turned into goblins to join the ranks…" Both Kainus and Reynold froze in place, eyes widening. "That's the spell they want me to cast. One that can tell which ones were children once and which ones aren't."

"Why?" Reynold asked.

"Because… there's a possibility that a certain fairy living in the school can maybe restore them," Merlin replied. "There are… students there, kids, who've, uh, lost loved ones to those creatures before… And want them back… The kings decided that if that was the case, then they'd try to spare the ones that were once children in the hopes of reuniting them with their families and loved ones." Reynold and Kainus were quiet. Well _that_ was depressing

They didn't speak again. At least not until suddenly Reynold spotted something of interest and froze midstep. "Blood!" he exclaimed quickly, pointing. "Greenish bluish blood. Not human. Maybe one of the goblins was injured. If it was, we might be able to follow this trail right to their tunnel."

Merlin went to it, bent down with his too-short robe—both boys grimaced and averted their eyes looking disgusted—and sniffed it. "Yep, that's goblin alright," the wizard said.

"Get the hell up old man," Reynold said. "Cai and I don't need to see that!"

"Oop, sorry. Thought it got a little drafty there for a minute," Merlin said. Kainus and Reynold exchanged grimaces. "Follow me boys, we have a trail to trace." Kainus and Reynold did so, double checking that their weapons were within easy reach and easy to draw. Merlin traced the trail, oddly quiet. They frowned curiously at him. It wan't long before they heard grunting and growling and squealing like something injured was in a lot of pain. The two boys immediately dropped into sneaking positions. Merlin crept forward in utter silence. And he wasn't sneaking. Which was a little unsettling.

The noises became louder as they neared. Finally, they peered over a bush and started. There on the ground lay an injured goblin! Its leg was broken, and two arrows stuck out of it. It was bleeding. It smelled the air, caught their scent, and growled in their direction. "Well this was pointless," Kainus said, standing up and walking towards it, drawing its sword. "At least we know which way it was going now, though." He approached the snarling and now screaming and squealing goblin, who was threateningly trying to lunge to fight back. Kainus raised the sword above his head, but suddenly a glow erupted around the creature that made him leap back. "Whoa!" he exclaimed.

"What is that?" Reynold immediately demanded, backing away with eyes wide. They looked towards the wizard and started at the grim and tired and grave look in his eyes. "Merlin?"

Merlin finally looked up at them. After a moment, he said, "It means it was a child once."

Both Kainus and Reynold tensed up before looking sharply back at the goblin that was snarling at them and squealing and scratching. They were still. After a moment, Kainus approached it again and lifted his sword over it. He shifted a little, mouth twitching. "Cai?" Reynold asked a little uncertainly, eyes fixed uneasily on the goblin.

Kainus didn't move. After a moment he let out a shaky breath, lowering the blade and backing away a little. "You… there's a way, you said?" he finally asked Merlin.

"There may be," Merlin answered. Kainus shifted and cast an uneasy look towards Reynold. Reynold's eyes were fixed on the creature. He looked up and met Cai's eyes. Merlin, watching, said, "We can't stay out here any longer anyway. It's gonna get dark soon, and if we're not behind the walls when the hoards come? It's not gonna be pretty… We need to either put it down or take it with us. Now."

Reynold and Cai looked at it once more. Eventually Reynold approached it and picked it up. It began trying to fight, but a spell from Merlin immediately put it under and it passed out. "Thanks," Reynold muttered. "Ugh, I can't believe we're doing this…"

"Curiosity and cats," Kainus said, shrugging. Frankly he was pretty _interested_ in seeing if fairy magic could cancel out goblin magic like this. When the three returned bearing the goblin, a hush fell over everyone who saw. Pellinore told them to bring it to the dungeon and lock it in a cell to wait until others were collected. They did so and went to prepare to help fight.

KAK

Lancelot and the jousting team covered a section of wall, looking out towards the roads. "This night isn't gonna be fun," Galihoden remarked as they waited for the onslaught. "Good practice," Lancelot replied, shrugging. Silence again, awkward and a bit heavy. Lancelot shifted and winced before turning to the others. "Why did you come back for me?" he asked them suddenly.

Quiet met the question. "Because Arthur talked us into it," Brandelis finally replied.

"You didn't have to let him talk you into anything… The way things left off between us I wouldn't have thought it would have reached you at all anyway," Lancelot said. "Why did you come back for me?"

Silence. "Family," Bleoberis finally answered.

"Because you're my cousin and I love you?" Bohort backed.

"Because you're my best friend, and I would happily die for you," Gawain declared.

"You three go without saying, same with Hector and Lionel. The rest of you, though? What's _your_ excuses?" Lancelot kept pushing.

It was Sagremore who finally answered with something that could semi-pass for a straight reply. "Arthur isn't the only one who can inspire loyalty," he said. Lancelot started and looked kind of relieved to hear that. He really hadn't felt lately like he did…

"And perhaps we aren't as indifferent to one another as we tried to make ourselves," Tristan added quietly.

There was silence once more. "Thank you," Lancelot finally said, voice genuine and true. "For coming back."

"You're welcome," Bedivere said softly. "But all of us know you would have done it for any one of us without question or hesitation. It's loyalty like yours all of us should maybe try striving for, because when push comes to shove?"

"I'm not as loyal as that," Lancelot quietly said. "But believe it or not, I try to be. Even when it doesn't come across like it." No further word was spoken.

KAK

Sadok, Dinadan, Brunor, and Daniel were making their way through the woods trying to hunt down the armies of Nentres and Uriens. Goblin patrols were indeed wandering. Currently they were hiding from one, backs against a cliff face as Sadok, in the front, peered warily out while they shambled passed. His arm was stretched in front of the boys, instinctively keeping them flush to the rocks. Dinadan was looking at said arm, vaguely curious. Brunor seemed suspicious but interested. Daniel was unaffected. If anything, he looked a little relieved. Finally, Sadok's arm moved away and the boys all looked at him. "Clear," he murmured. "Keep low and quiet." They nodded in understanding, crouching like he was doing and slipping out.

"They like planting their armies a world away, don't they?" Brunor dryly whispered.

"Well it is what it is," Dinadan replied. "Nothing we can do about it."

"They didn't park their armies _that_ far away. They couldn't have, because they wouldn't have just walked right passed a bandit fort without attacking it," Daniel said.

"They could be in another section of these woods. Wherever they are, they're far enough that we probably won't get back to the school tonight," Brunor said. Though here was hoping.

"Most of that time will be spent preparing for battle, boy," Sadok said. "Reaching them? That will not take overly long. We will find them before morning I would wager."

Dinadan suddenly cried out as the ground seemed to open beneath him. Sadok spun, seizing his arm firmly and dragging him away from whatever had almost swallowd him up. Dinadan, heart pounding, gawked at the hole that had appeared. Perfectly round. Not made by nature. "Tell me that's a bandit trap," he said.

Sadok, frowing, replied, "I wish I could. It is a goblin hole. They have boobytrapped the forest. No doubt in an attempt to do just this. Catch whatever knight or unwary searcher dares to come looking for them or for help."

"As if we didn't have enough to worry about," Brunor dryly said.

"I see smoke!" Daniel's voice suddenly called from somewhere above. They started and looked around only to spot him high up in a tree!

"Daniel!" Dinadan exclaimed.

"Get down from there before you break your neck, boy!" Sadok testily shot.

"I see smoke," Daniel stubbornly repeated. "Maybe from the army camps."

"Good. Now get down," Sadok repeated. "You can fill us in from the safety of the ground." Daniel frowned and climbed down. When he finished explaining, he took the lead and the group headed off to find the encamped armies…

Sure enough, it wasn't long before they did. Three hours or so, from leaving Worcestershire? The armies of Nentres and Uriens read through the letters that had been brought to them. Finally, they looked back at Sadok, Dinadan, Daniel, and Brunor. "Move out!" they finally began to shout to one another. They weren't going to question this. Immediately men were scrambling to get ready for a fight. Sadok honestly hadn't been sure these people would cooperate, so he was low-key relieved they had. "Get some food and drink into yourselves, boys," he told the three brothers. "We're marching with them right into battle." The brothers nodded and scrambled off to do so. Sadok looked around then swiped a loaf of bread, biting into it as he watched the armies hurry to prepare.

"Sadok?" Brunor asked, returning to him tentatively.

Sadok glanced over and smiled. "Brunor, ready to brave the hoards so soon?" he asked before letting out a laugh. It was strained, but hopefully that wouldn't be obvious.

"Always," Brunor replied. He looked back at the armies, then to Sadok again. "What happens to Mador, when this is done? And you and the others?" he asked.

Sadok's smile twitched a bit and he shifted, dropping the act and grimacing. "I do not know," he admitted. "I… He will bargain for us to go free or be pardoned…"

"What about for himself?" Brunor asked. Sadok was quiet. Finally, he sighed and shook his head negatively. He didn't know… He expected it wouldn't be good. Brunor winced and looked away. "Go eat with your brothers. When you have done, meet up with me again," Sadok said. "And do not be concerned for Mador and the others. What happens now… There is nothing that can be done… Nothing anyone can do to prevent it." Brunor was quiet. Arthur could prevent it, he found himself inwardly answering; before grimacing and shoving that thought away hoping he never, ever had it again. He was loathe to give that wimpy loner credit for anything. He went after his brothers once more to get some food.

 _Meanwhile_

Night was drawing closer. Soon the sun would be gone, and they would be facing the hoards. "Whichever goblins are surrounded by a glow, keep them alive!" Pellinore ordered them all from a balcony above the courtyard they were assembled in. "We want those ones prisoners, not corpses."

Geraint flinched hard at Arthur's side. Arthur glanced worriedly over at him. "Hey, it'll be okay," he offered. It was lame, sure, a cliched promise he couldn't keep, and they both knew it, but he wanted to at least _try_ to make Erec feel better.

"You're full of crap… But crap's what I need right about now, so thanks," Geraint replied.

"You'll see them again," Gawain spoke up from Arthur's side.

"If they're alive," Geraint quietly replied.

For a moment there was quiet. "What were their names again?" Arthur asked.

Geraint shifted then sighed. "Ermind and Dywel," he said.

"I think I remember them," Gawain said. "Ermind was a sweet kid. Dywel was a bit… eccentric. And a little weird. And slightly creepy on occasion. But other than that, he was okay!" Geraint gave him a look. "Oh, come on, his obsession with long hair and clothes is weird," Gawain said.

"He had the eye of a stylist," Geraint replied, smirking. "Took after our uncle Raoul."

"Wait, that's my palace stylist," Arthur said, a bit surprised at this.

"Yep. Raoul taught Dywel everything he knows," Geraint said. "Kid has… had… royal tastes on a not so royal budget, so had to figure out how to compensate. Uncle taught him how to make clothes and jewelry, how to find rich fabrics for cheap, things like that. He also taught him how to style hair. First impressions are key and all that. Dywel wasn't so much into the hair thing for himself, he found it annoying, but he liked to play around with it on other people's hair, if that hair had potential."

"Maybe he has a better taste than Raoul," Arthur flatly said, grimacing at the thought of some of the wardrobe choices he'd seen the guy come up with.

"He probably has a more… practical taste," Geraint said, smiling gratefully at Arthur's use of present tense rather than past. It gave him hope.

Horns sounded, then, and the three looked quickly towards the walls and shifted. "They're here," Gawain said, stating the obvious. He tended to do that sometimes. Geraint let out a shaky breath.

"It'll be okay," Arthur said again.

"I hope you're right," Geraint answered. Quickly the three hurried to get onto the wall. They looked towards the path. Not a minute later, the noises of angry goblin hoards could be heard hooting and hollering, bearing down on the school. Merlin cast his spell, and the glowing ones stood brightly out… Every one of them was on the front lines…

"Those _bastards_ ," Gawain said, eyes wide. So that's how they organized their lines! The children they took and corrupted were supposed to be _canon_ fodder?!

Geraint glared, tears threatening his eyes at the number of glowing ones there were. "Dammit," he said in a breath, drawing a hand down his face quickly. There was a momentary lapse all around as the others realized the truth of it as well, then immediately arrows began to fly to the back lines, taking out whatever they could there and ignoring the glowing ones. This? This was going to be a long, long night.

KAK

It was, indeed, a long, long night. Paranoia, anxiety, stress, and an all-around bed mood permeated the night. Avoiding the glowing ones was proving a difficult task, and it was seriously hindering their ability to stop the goblin onslaught. Merlin was proving incredibly useful right about now, able to cover where they got sloppy. Arthur really had to thank and reward the guy for all this. Then again so far everybody here deserved a reward, and he didn't exactly have the means on hand to do that, so thanks was all he could offer. Prince Charming was at Arthur's side switching between utterly bored with all of this and intensely annoyed. It was apparent he didn't want to be here, or if he did then he really, really wanted it to just end already.

"Why are there so many?" Arthur asked, dismayed.

"Because the filthy creatures multiply like rabbits, as Lancelot said," Charming replied.

Arthur grimaced and looked worriedly toward a very, very stressed looking Geraint. "Hey, you okay?" he asked.

"No," Geraint replid, shaking his head quickly. "Goddammit how long is this going to go on?! The longer they attack the more likely the glowing ones are to be killed too, and the more glowing ones that die the more… the more likely my brothers are among them…"

"Geraint, it'll be okay," Arthur said.

"No, Arthur, no it won't! I'll have closure and that'll be something, maybe, but they might still be gone! And even if they come back… What if they remember? What am I supposed to do with two traumatized little brothers?!"

"Bring them back home and let your father be a father instead of trying to take on that burden yourself," Charming spoke up. As far as he knew, Erbin was a good man. "You also have councillors here who'll be kept busy counselling more children from this school than just your brothers if they remember everything. Seriously, what is with teenagers and trying to lift the world by themselves?"

"Sometimes we don't have a choice!" Geraint replied.

"But you aren't one of the ones who don't have a choice," Charming said firmly.

Geraint shifted uneasily and looked over the walls once more. "I can't go home without them. I can't. Dad would never look at me again much less speak to me!" he said.

"Does he seriously not know?!" Arthur demanded, tensing a bit and looking a little alarmed.

"I couldn't go home and tell him my brothers died under my watch!" Geraint said. "So I kept making up excuse after excuse to stay here and just… I didn't think it through, okay?! I was panicking and grieving and lost and didn't know what to do or think! He knew they were missing, but when he demanded answers I lied and told him they'd been found again, and yeah it was stupid and yeah I was a creep for pulling that stunt and yeah maybe he could have helped, but…"

"But teenagers are as stupid as stupid gets?" Charming flatly said. Erec and Arthur winced and glared daggers at the prince.

"No, for your information," Geraint replied. "At least… not always."

"You're really not making our case here man," Arthur said.

Geraint winced and shrugged sheepishly. He looked back out over the fight. "I just… I just want it to end so I can see my brothers again…"

"The armies will be here soon," Arthur said. "They _have_ to be."

Almost on cue, two distinct horns sounded out. One from Garloth and one from Gore. Cheers echoed along the walls as the armies of Nentres and Uriens appeared, riding onto the scene. The goblins began to panic at the surprise attack, quickly falling apart. Arthur breathed a breath of relief. It was over… He cheered with the others, then.

KAK

Come morning, Merlin went out on his own to find the exit the goblins had been using. He sealed it immediately. The corpses of the dead creatures were burned, and the ones with glows around them taken captive and hoarded into the dungeons. Now there was hesitation. Not for lack of want, but because of fear. Fear over what might be seen. The teachers, or some of them at least, were going over the list Geraint had compiled. Names of children who'd disappeared and either not been remembered or been swept under the rug. Erec and Arthur alone were in the room with them. "We deserve to be there when they're turned back, me and others who've lost people," Geraint said after a moment. The faculty had been clear that no students would be allowed to observe, say Blanchemal who really didn't have much choice.

"You deserve to experience only the good that will come of it. You do not need to see the bad too," Pellinore said firmly. "When Blachemal has turned them back, we'll find you and any others who are effected and bring you to them. Stay just outside the dungeons, if you must, but don't come in."

"Why?" Erec demanded.

"Because a majority of those who will be turned back will not last," Bagdemagus said. "Those who should have died long ago will die, perhaps turn to dust. Those who were kidnapped long ago will come back elderly, perhaps taking their dying breaths… It's not something you need to see. It's something as few as possible need to see… It won't be joyful. It'll be painful, and you and those who've lost little ones or siblings or relatives to the goblins deserve only the joy."

Geraint was quiet, looking conflicted. "Okay," he finally relented with a sigh. "Can I just… Before you do it can I see? Please?"

Silence. "I mean it couldn't hurt, right?" Arthur spoke up, sympathizing with Geraint. The faculty exchanged looks.

"Very well," Bors the Elder said, looking back. "But I'm coming with you. Just in case you need it." Geraint nodded, honesly a bit glad for that. "Very well then. Come along. As for the others, they need to deal with the matter of the bandits, for now…" Arthur winced at that. Right. The trial. He really, _really_ wasn't looking forward to it. He hated court, he decided.

KAK

Geraint entered the dungeons with King Bors, quiet and depressed looking. He peered up and into the cells filled with the captured goblins. He shifted. "How many do you think are gone?" he asked after a moment.

Bors was quiet. "Most," he finally settled on saying. "Worcestershire in and of itself was… generally good at keeping its students safe."

Erec was quiet. "Do you think they retained anything of who they were?" he asked after a moment, voice becoming very quiet.

Bors looked over and saw Geraint pulling a piece of rich fabric out of his pocket. "Why do you want to know?" the councillor finally asked.

"Just… If they're so far gone, maybe it's kinder to just let it go and put them out of their misery. Especially if Jessica, Blanchemal, can't do anything for them after all," Geraint said, voice breaking. "I mean, what if it's too much? Too traumatizing, too heartless? What if they'd rather die…?"

Bors mulled over his response. "I remember them both… They were such strong little boys. Brave and determined, never quitters. The harder the challenge the better… They took after their big brother…"

Erec sniffed and wiped his eyes furiously. "Well taking after big brother got them here," he said. Bors winced and approached, gently placing a hand on Geraint's shoulder.

Geraint looked up at him miserably. "Would Dywel and Ermind just give up or want to die when things became difficult? Would you? Would you want to live, Geraint?" Bors asked.

Geraint looked towards the creatures again. "Yes," he finally replied. "I'd want to try…"

"They take after you in that too," Bors softly said.

"Took," Geraint corrected.

"Take," Bors firmly stated.

Erec was quiet, choosing to say nothing. Soon, though, he approached the cells and knelt to eye level of some of the restless goblins chattering angrily. Many of them lunged, trying to rip him apart through the bars. He flinched but didn't move. Soon, realizing they couldn't get out, most fell back to just snarl and spit at him. He let his hair loose from the ties holding it, and held up the rich fabric, twirling it in his fingers. None of the goblins seemed to have much reaction. Tears burned his eyes and he let out a shaky breath, bowing his head and closing them tight.

"My gods…" Bors whispered from behind.

Geraint looked up with a curious frown and stiffened, catching his breath. Prowling towards him was a goblin whose eyes were fixed on the fabric, cautiously nearing. Behind him crept a second, seemingly inclined to follow him. Geraint was utterly still. The goblin reached the bars and snarled and chattered at him viciously, baring its teeth menacingly. Its eyes went to the fabric again and it sniffed in its direction. The other's eyes were fixed on Geraint squarely. The one snarling reached out to try and snatch the fabric. Geraint let it take it. It scrambled away a little bit, growling and chattering, then looked at the fabric sniffing it. Others tried to take it, but it screeched at them pushing them away and scrambling to the bars again where the one who'd followed it still was, wavering and growling at Geraint but otherwise not being aggressive.

It plunked down, back to Geraint, holding and feeling the fabric and facing the other hobs in case one tried to get close. Geraint swallowed thickly. "Hi buddies," he said softly to them. The one still focused on him chattered and bared its teeth. "Dammit," Erec said, wiping his eyes again. "What were you thinking, Ermind? You _knew_ you weren't supposed to leave. You knew…" The goblin focused on him stopped moving, staring at him. Geraint sniffed and looked at Dywel. "Dywel? Dye?" he said, reaching out carefully.

"Geraint don't!" Bors exclaimed as Geraint touched the head. The goblin spun with a screech, seizing his hand and going to bite it.

"Dywel, stop!" Geraint exclaimed in fear instinctively. The goblin paused, teeth hovering around the hand but not biting down as it snarled, glaring. Its eyes found Geraint's eyes. Erec was in tears. Its eyes starayed to the hair and it seemed to forget about biting, reaching out and grabbing a fistful, sniffing at it. Ermind suddenly let out an angry shriek, seeing the other hobgoblins making to try and attack again. Dywel snarled and turned away, letting Geraint's hair go. Bors moved quickly to bring Geraint away, but when the boy shook his hand off he stopped, just hovering close by. The two goblins turned to Geraint again, wary. The one plopped down again, focusing once more on the fabric. The other paced, growling and chittering at the others. Geraint broke down, curling in on himself, and both the goblins sharply looked up with growls. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Geraint said through tears. "I wasn't there. I should have been there. I should have found you and I… I'm sorry!" They stared at him and began to shift. The one without the fabric made a sound closer to one of pain or sadness than aggression. It crept closer and sat at the bars, staring. It reached out, touching Erec's foot. The other stared at him before making what sounded like a whimper and handing the fabric back. Geraint shakily reached out for it and the goblin grabbed his hand as it neared. Geraint dissolved into sobs again. The goblins sat utterly still, staring at him.

Bors, feeling tears burn his own eyes, let out a shaky breath and turned away, closing them tightly. He heard the doors open and looked over. Into the dungeon crept none other than Sagremore! Sagremore froze on seeing them, paling. Bors recalled the names on the list Geraint had compiled and inwardly winced. Sagremore was still, looking like he'd been caught in headlights. "Claire and Dinas," the councillor deduced quietly. Sagremore didn't move. His mouth quivered a bit before he quickly recovered himself. He turned and walked stiffly out again.

"Who are Dinas and Claire?" Geraint asked quietly.

"They were his half-sister and half-brother," Bors answered. Erec winced at that. "It was Sagremore, then Dinas, then Claire. One day Claire went missing, seven or eight years ago now… Pynchley declared her dead, though Sagremore and Dinas protested, and Primbottom told them that even if she wasn't dead, it just meant she'd probably been kidnapped and sold into slavery… They never believed it, but no one would hear them and they just… What could they do anymore…?" Bors said. "Dinas always thought Sagremore didn't do enough, thought he didn't even try to find her, so he took it upon _himself_ to, fancying himself the adventuring type. He snuck out one night. Sagremore went after him the moment he knew. He didn't even leave long after Dinas did, but… but it still wasn't soon enough… There was a scream, Sagremore ran to it as fast as he could. All that was left was the little wooden sword his brother had brought… He almost didn't come back that night. He blamed himself and thought death would be a fitting end for him given his wretched failures, but Daniel happened upon him in the forest, in the throes of grief, and went to him to try and comfort him. That was when _their_ unexpected friendship began."

"I never knew," Geraint quietly said. That is to say he'd known Sagremore had lost people, he just… hadn't known what relationship to them he'd had or what the story behind it was.

"You knew you weren't the only one who'd lost someone," Bors pointed out.

"Yeah… Just never thought it would hit as close to home as Sagremore…" Geraint replied, staring at the two goblins still holding his hand and foot and looking up at him. His rival, of all people, had been among those who had gone through the same hell _he_ had… Two siblings lost. Wow did it _ever_ hit close to home… Gently Geraint squeezed the hand of the goblin holding his own, and took the hand of the goblin touching his foot, lightly squeezing it as well. "I'll get you guys back. Promise. And all the others." He let them go and rose. They made sounds of protest that almost seemed alarmed and fearful. "It's okay. I'll be back," he promised them. They kept up their protesting noises as he backed away. He looked at Bors. "Whenever you and the others are ready, do it… Just hurry. Please. I want them back…" Bors nodded.

KAK

Arthur had expected a lot to come out of this trial they were now obliged to carry out for the bandits. What he _hadn't_ expected was Guinevere's father Leodegrance showing up at their doors, and declaring he would take the lead in it. Turned out Gwen had informed him of the bandits nearly kidnapping her. That on top of the fact that this island was debatably under _his_ jurisdiction, and the fact he had a longstanding, unspoken rivalry with Mador? Suffice it to say he wanted a hand in the sentencing of the bandits who had crossed him. Apparently no one wanted to put him in a foul mood, so he was immediately welcomed and given permission to carry out the trial himself. But Leodegrence wanted blood, which they'd figured out a bit late, so now Arthur was left to watch helplessly as Leodegrance had at the band of maurauders.

"Mador de la Porte, today you stand trial for your crimes and the crimes of all your band," Leodegrance said, glaring down darkly at the bandit chief, who glared disgustedly at him. "You're guilty, of that there's no doubt, but I give you the chance to make an argument for you and your men." Leodegrance obviously expected Mador to throw the whole of his band under the carriage, so the bandit chief's response shocked him silent. It shocked _all_ of them.

"I make a plea only for my men. They put their lives at risk helping to fight off a goblin attack that could have decimated a whole generation of students. Some even went out of their way, put themselves at more risk than was needed, to help end it. And they fought well alongside the faculty and students, all of them. Give them at least a chance at life. A reprieve, a pardon, anything… I ask nothing for myself," Mador said. "Do to me what you will."

Leodegrance glared down at Mador and scanned the other bandits. Some looked defiant, some afraid, some desperate. He was quiet. "Give them a choice, Leodegrance. It may be best for everyone, in the end. They really did fight honorably at Worcestershire's side…" Cador, who was at Leodegrance's right hand, pled quietly.

"What is your proposal?" Leodegrance murmured quietly to Cador.

"If Mador must die, he must die, but the others… Let them choose death with him, imprisonment for life, integration into society…" Cador began. He trailed off and looked at the bandits who seemed to be little more than boys. "Or a second chance at life," he continued. "An education, a chance to become more… Give them that."

Leodegrance was quiet, watching the bandits. His eyes found the young ones in the group and he shifted on his throne, jaw twitching slightly. "You speak well, Cador," he finally replied.

"Thank you, majesty," Cador replied, bowing his head to the man.

Leodegrance looked them all over. "Those of you twenty-one and younger, step forth," he ordered. The bandits looked to Mador. Mador nodded. Reynold finally moved ahead and Kainus followed. Then came two more, tentatively joining Reynold and Kai. "What are their names?" Leodegrance asked Mador.

"They are Briant, or Brian, de Litinoise, le Forest Savage; Driant, the Youth of Quintareus; Kainus, or Cai de Stranges; and Reynold. Cai is twenty, Briant nineteen. Driant is eighteen and Reynold is a boy of only sixteen who will be going on seventeen, in not too long," Mador answered.

Leodegrance summed them up and nodded. "You have been given a reprieve. You will be sent to Worcestershire, and be given a second chance at making something of yourselves." The four boys shifted uneasily, exchanging unconvinced and uncertain looks, but they didn't argue, instead looking worriedly at Mador. "King Pellinore, they have become _your_ charges now… If they stray off the path again, make it clear to them they won't be given further amnesty." Pellinore nodded to Leodegrance and looked at the boys in some concern.

"My gratitude for your mercy towards my men, majesty," Mador said, staring unwaveringly at the king.

"Humph," Leodegrance replied. He looked at the rest. "Mador's fate is sealed, but there is a choice for the rest of you. Three paths I now put before you. Death with your chief, imprisonment for however long I determine you deserve, or sanctuary in the main city of my kingdom where you will remain the rest of your lives or until I deem you worthy of pardon. Choose."

Parchment was placed on the tables, one paper for each choice, and quills rested beside them. There was stillness a long, long time before the bandits finally began to move. Four defiantly chose imprisonment. And Sadok? He glared up at Leodegrance bitterly. Finally, he huffed and went to the parchments. Without even a hesitation he signed his name for death.

"Sadok, no. I don't want that. I give him myself so the rest of you might live!" Mador protested immediately on seeing this.

"I choose death over imprisonment or sanctuary," Sadok bitterly said, glaring at the visibly surprised Leodegrance challengingly. Mador could only gape at him in disbelief.

Leodegrance finally snapped out of the surprise and gestured for the lists to be brought to him. He read the names. "Hervise de la Forest Savage… A relation to the boy Briant, or just a title?" he asked after a moment.

The bandit, Hervise, was silent. "If I did not have that boy to live for, I would have as easily as Sadok chosen death," he finally and vaguely answered, not directly answering but all but confirming Briant was a relation to him of some sort.

Leodegrance nodded then looked at the list again. "Very well. Cardok aka Casadoc, Goreu fab Custennin, Gornemant of Gohort, and Hervise de la Forest Savage, I hearby sentence you to indefinite imprisonment until either the end of your lives or the time I deem it appropriate to release you." He looked to Sadok and Mador. "Mador de la Porte, Sadok le Blond, you are hereby sentenced to death. For your loyalty to your chief, yours will be swift enough, Sadok… I will not promise _you_ , Mador, the same mercy." Mador kept quiet. "The rest of you may go." Those who'd chosen repieve and sanctuary in the city left without looking back. Even Leodegrance looked a bit put out at their eagerness to abandon their leader to the dogs. Only those who'd signed on for death or imprisonment remained. And the four boys who had been given over to Pellinore.

"No, you can't do this! He doesn't deserve that fate, he doesn't! Neither of them do!" the boy Driant immediately protested, slightly pale to hear this sentence given. He looked at the other kings. "Your majesties, please, do something! _Anything_! Please!"

The kings one by one looked away, denying any help in this matter. "Mador helped defend you all and risked his own men's lives when he could have just hid. Don't you owe him _something_?!" Reynold demanded, becoming quickly angered and upset at this.

Arthur, among the few kings still looking unsure, turned to Charming. "Is there something I can do? That doesn't border on tyrant king? Anything?" he asked.

"King Arthur would hold audience with King Leodegrance!" Charming called out without even looking at Arthur.

KAK

Arthur nearly had a heartattack on the spot. The prince had figuratively just kicked him out of the nest to let him attempt to fly on his own! Which, by the way, he was _not_ cool with. "Charming, no!" he protested in horror. Too late. Everything went silent as all eyes fell on the pale-as-a-ghost boy king, who felt the eyes on him and slowly turned, looking like a deer caught in lamplight. He eeped, losing his voice completely, struck as to what to say.

After about a minute, Leodegrance spoke. "Well?" he said. Arthur opened his mouth then slammed it quickly shut again.

"Oh for god's sake Arthur, get it together," Charming hissed.

"Uh I…" Arthur began. Charming nearly facepalmed, sighing in exasperation. Arthur swallowed and looked down at the condemned bandits, then at Leodegrance, then at Charming, then back again. He swallowed, frantically trying to find his voice. "What, um, d-drives such loyalty to this man? This-this Mador de la Porte?" he asked, trying to buy time so he could think up something.

Silence met the question. No one looked like they could believe what he'd just asked. Eyes went to the bandits again, who looked stunned. Finally, Kainus spoke. "He is a father to his men. At least to the young ones. The four of us that have been sentenced to school, apparently. He took us in, each of us say for Briant, when those who were supposed to protect us and support us failed to and cast us out. When we had nobody, we had him. He could have sold us into slavery, could have made us each kept men, prizes to be played with whensoever his band desired, but he didn't. He never would, and any bandit found guilty of any such thing by him was put to death without hesitation. If you were found to have lied and caused him to execute an innocent, rest assured your death would be a thousand times worse than that innocent one's had been, but it never came to that because everyone respected him too much. He brought me up with Reynold and Driant. Hervise took care of Brian most of the time, but our group was close and so Mador took on a caregiving role for even Brian. There isn't a man under Mador who doesn't owe him their lives, and among the men who remain here, each one would give up anything and pay whatever price to ensure he lives. He is a good man to those he cares for and commands, does everything for us, and will go above and beyond for us. _That_ , your excellency, is what drives our loyalty to him. _That_ is why we plead for him."

There was silence again, Arthur staring in disbelief. Wow. That was… passionate. He looked the bandits over again. He shifted a bit then turned to Leodegrance. "I… would make a proposal to you, King Leodegrance. An… amendment to the choices you laid out, as it were."

"Very well," Leodegrance warily replied. He couldn't deny some measure of curiosity over what this new king, Arthur, would suggest.

"Those you sentenced to the dungeons, instead throw them into the barracks. Train them up and make them your knights. One of the many bandit arguments for being jerks is that they want to feel free. Being forced to become your knights? That may be a punishment worse than prison to them. To become sworn to serve _you_? The King who would have had them all put to death if he'd been so inclined? It would be their nightmare, to be made your servants. Bound to guard you through thick and thin whether they want to or not, on penalty of whatever your law states," Arthur pitched. The four who'd chosen imprisonment visibly bristled and looked a bit appalled at the suggestion. "And Sadok… There will be no worse way to punish him for his crimes than to deny him the choice he made and give him life instead, as a knight in service to you as well."

"You little bastard!" Sadok, outraged, shouted angrily.

Arthur winced at the insult, visibly stung, but only Charming could really see as much. The young king frowned and got his composure back. Mador was warily and suspiciously watching him, curious and a bit intrigued. "As to Mador… I know you want him dead. To be punished for the crimes of which he is guilty, but… but I see more potential in him than you do… I would have him as _my_ knight, if you refuse to take him as yours." Mador started, eyes widening in shock as he tried to process what had just happened.

Leodegrance looked incredulous, but at the same time intrigued with this boy king. "Are you giving me a choice?" he asked.

"Uh, no. Not for Mador, no," Arthur answered, sounding a bit rueful and guilty. "I've seen potential shine through where it's least expected before. I haven't regretted giving it a chance to so far, and… and I don't think you will either? This time? I mean, there are more irredeemable and sadistic bandit groups than Mador's. Really his isn't even all that bat in the grand scheme of things. Maybe the connections they've won throughout their criminal careers will help you too!"

Leodegrance seemed to become slightly more attentive at that last line. The boy had a point, after all. He looked at the bandits, then Arthur, then back. "It seems I have little choice," he finally said. "The one most deserving of death, King Arthur will not allow me to execute… And there's no reason the subordinates should be punished worse than the leader…" And honestly, he'd never relished giving out death sentences or life-imprisonment ones. "So I accept your proposal and amendments, young Arthur. But _I_ will be the one to keep Mador as my knight." So he could rub it in, he pettily added to himself. Mador grimaced in disgust.

"Fair enough," Arthur said, visibly relaxing a bit.

"Take the men away to the barracks. They will be locked away for some days while we… condition them," Leodegrance ominously said.

"Uh, King Leodegrance, I really hope you don't mean torture because if you do I'm, uh, k-kind of going to have to put my foot down there too," Arthur said, visibly unsettled by the implication of 'conditioning' the men.

Leodegrance looked over at Arthur, mystified, then frowned and sighed. "Very well. Lock them away for some days while we check their dispositions and openness to this idea. With Mador among them, maybe they will be more open to this whole plan of yours. If not, then I may have to resort to the original sentencing." If only for this new and inexperienced high king's sake. Arthur sighed in relief, visibly loosening up. Leodegrance chuckled then turned to his guards again. "As for the boys? Hand them over to King Pellinore and his associates to deal with." The guards immediately moved to do so.

Arthur looked up at Charming kind of low-key—okay not so low-key—searching for his approval of how he'd handled it. Charming seemed satisfied with his performance, judging by his expression and stance. Charming, catching Arthur's hopeful eyes, grimaced then put on a smile. "Well done, my boy," he said. " _Well_ done." Arthur beamed up at him with a grin then turned away. Charming chuckled quietly. Now the boy was searching for his approval, was he? Oh, this was coming along much, much better than he could have hoped. It was only a matter of time before his goal would be realized, and phase two could begin…

KAK

Blanchemal stood at the side of Kings Bagdemagus, and Bors, the rulers immediately available for this phase. "Once you've cast the spell, leave, Jessica," Bagdemagus said.

"I'm a fairy five times as old as any of you are. What, do you think I can't take what will happen?" she defiantly asked.

"Fairies age quite different than humans. We're adults in our respective lifespans. You? You are decidely not," Bors replied. And five times as old was exaggeration anyway. Jessica pouted at them then sighed in exasperation, looking at the goblins in disgust. "Do you really want to see the death and suffering and mourning and dust?" he pressed a bit. Blanchemal was many things, but sadistic? That was pushing it a bit.

Sure enough, Jessica began to shift. Soon she sighed in exasperation. "Fine," she said. She moved towards the cages, looked over all the goblins, then shrank and began to fly, casting fairy dust over all of them then quickly returning to the teachers, going back to normal height, hiding her wings, and walking out. "I've done what I can. If this fails, either give up or hope to find someone else," she called back at the door before closing it behind her. The teachers watched after her then turned to the sight, holding their breath. Suddenly the goblins all began to freak out, screaming and tossing and turning and losing their heads. The teachers tensed up in worry, hoping they hadn't been tricked and Jessica had just killed them all. Soon, though, they began to start to change…

The teachers watched, mouths agape, the sad scene playing out. The ones that went first? Ones that would have died long ago had they had the chance to live… Human forms crumbling into dust and exhaling last breaths as they dissolved. The next ones to begin to appear? Old ones. Children who hadn't been given the chance to grow up and who had missed the whole of their lives. The teachers had little doubt many would beg to be mercy killed, when they awoke and learned of all that had befallen them. Neither of them relished that.

"We'll have to send in Morholt, Permones, Pertilope, and Meliot," Bagdemagus murmured to Bors. "Because I won't have the stomach for this."

Bors nodded in silent agreement. "Do you have the list Geraint made?" he asked. Bagdemagus nodded. "Good. Then we can begin to… to cross out the names of those dead…" Bagdemagus winced at the statement but nevertheless began to take record of all they were seeing.

They morphed slowly, from oldest to youngest as they went… Then there were children… Teenagers and preteens and small ones. Faces the two teachers could remember and visibly winced at, as they appeared. They closed their eyes, swallowing, and didn't look again until all was silent. Then they did, and gasped in part joy and part sorrow…

KAK

Geraint paced restlessly, waiting and wringing his hands together nervously. Sagremore was there also, sitting still and quiet with head bowed. The door opened. They glanced up. In slipped Guinevere. They both paused, stunned to see her. She was stunned to see them too. She shifted uneasily and glanced away, bowing her head a bit ashamedly. "How many?" Erec asked quietly.

"One," she replied. "A… my sister…" Leodegrance came in soon after Guinevere, looking like an absolute wreck. It was shortly after the trial had closed out that Pellinore had informed him of what was about to take place at the school. He'd made all haste and not paused even once, racing to be there in time with Guinevere. "What about you two?" Gwen asked after a moment.

Geraint went quiet. "A sister and a brother," Sagremore quietly said. "At least for me… For Geraint two brothers…" Gwen nodded, looking down, then looked at the doors again. "Meliot and Morholt went in not long ago. And Pertilope and Permones," Sagremore said.

"In case any of them wanted to die," Erec said in a whisper. "What is there when you've lost out on the whole of your life and stand on your last legs? What… what's even the point…?"

The doors opened, and all eyes went to them… It started with those in midlife… No elderly came out… Few in midlife did either, for that matter. They suspected that those who came out still had parents alive somewhere and longed for news of them. Longed to see them once more. They probably held onto that one hope and that one hope alone. None of them stopped, looking broken and grieved. Gwen, Sagremore, and Geraint had to look away. Leodegrance was quiet and still, watching. He went over to three of the ones who'd come out and greeted them. Gwen glanced over and winced, looking away again. Her father knew them, she realized immediately. Or had once. Leodegrance was near to tears, and them as well. She couldn't watch that. It wasn't long before her father returned, placing a hand on her shoulder and gently rubbing it.

Younger adults came after, ones in their twenties and thirties thereabouts. They looked much more hopeful and raced by without hesitation, darting out of the room to run back to homes and parents and siblings and whatever else they'd had that would have moved on by now but would be so overjoyed to see them again. They could hear even some joyful cries and weeping and screaming from on campus… Bagdemagus, Morholt, Meliot, Permones, and Pertilope came out next. Bors wasn't with them.

The children and Leodegrance tensed up. There was silence a moment. "How many on your list were there, that were teenagers and children?" Leodegrance soon asked.

"Fourteen," Bagdemagus replied. Thank goodness. It was some measure of good news, at least. "The wounded one Merlin brought back was one." The group caught their breath. "It made it," Bagdemagus quickly added. "It was a child, a little boy I can't recall, whose name is Azrael Annecians."

"Where is Bors?" Leodegrance asked.

"Doing his job and trying to council them. They're traumatized, as you can well imagine," Sir Meliot stated. Their parents and families will soon be here."

"Sir, what about… about _our_ siblings…?" Geraint asked.

Bagdemagus nodded to Meliot. Meliot looked at Pertilope and Permones. They nodded and entered the room again. After a moment, they brought out a teenaged girl Guinevere's age who looked almost exactly like her. A twin, no doubt. Guinevere gave a cry and ran to her, bursting into tears and throwing her arms around the girl. Leodegrance gaped, eyes filled with frantic emotion and desperate longing.

"Gwen, Gwen is it over? Am I okay? Where's daddy? Where's daddy?!" the girl fearfully asked.

Leodegrance gave a cry, suddenly, and ran towards the girl. "Gwenavere!" he cried out in joy and desperation, reaching her and Gwen in record time and throwing his arm around them both, clinging frantically to the other girl who broke down, grabbing onto her father in terror and collaping from emotion. He scooped her up, holding her near and kissing her as she sobbed and clung to him. Guinevere wouldn't let her hand go and couldn't speak through her tears. The three of them staggered out, Leodegrance rocking his little girl and bringing her back towards home with Guinevere trailing along.

Sagremore swallowed thickly and looked ahead at the door. Soon the Red Knight and the Green Knight came out again, and Sagremore gave a cry, shooting to his feet and racing towards the two, one a very dazed looking girl about twelve, and the other a confused and mixed up looking boy perhaps around the age of Gareth, Agravaine, and Percival. Sagremore was in tears as he clung to them. "Sagremore?" the boy asked, voice cracking and breaking, raspy from disuse and onsetting puberty which was obviously freaking him out. Sagremore kept crying, unable to speak, and just clung to them.

"Sagremore, what's happening?" the girl, starting to breathe too quickly, asked.

"You're safe, you're home. I won't let you go again. I won't lose you again. I can't. I can't!" Sagremore replied, sobbing and holding them tight. "No one can take you from me again! I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I should have… I couldn't…" He broke down all over again. The reality of it suddenly seemed to hit the two he was holding, and all at once they also were in tears, all of them collapsing to the floor and clinging to one another tightly and frantically as they spoke to one another in another language, their native one most likely. They refused to let each other go. They adamantly and totally refused. Nothing was prying the trio apart.

Geraint began to tremble with emotion and looked frantically towards the door again. Pertilope and Permones entered once again and returned. This time, clinging to their hands, were two small boys looking afraid and unsure, one clinging tightly to a piece of rich fabric with his free hand. Geraint gave a cry and they looked over quickly at him. They gave shrieks of longing and fear and love and desperation and jerked free of the teachers, running to him. He raced to meet them and fell to his knees, scooping them both up into his arms and breaking down, barely managing to choke out their names as they too dissolved into tears and buried themselves as far into him as they possibly could, peppering him with frantic kisses as he kissed them in turn and clung to them. "I'll never let you go again. Never again," he finally heard himself say when he could understand his words again. "Dywel, Ermind, you're okay. You're safe. You're okay." And he wasn't letting them out of his sight ever as long as they lived, he stubbornly promised to himself. Impossible promise to make, yes, but he stuck by it anyway. Dywel sniffed, drawing back and wiping away his tears, nuzzling him. Ermind just buried himself into his big brother shivering. Geraint could only cry…

KAK

The scroll of names was closed, finally. They'd deduce who each one of the saved children had been and crossed off those dead and those who might yet have a chance to live again. Those who had been students: Arrok, Azrael, Dywel, Ermind, Enid, Claire, Gwenavere, Essyllt, Essylld, Clarrus, Dinas, Neurovens de Lile, Priamus, and Degrevant.

Those who were orphans: Degrevant, Azrael, Arrok, and Neurovens. Forgotten children each one. Unknown.

Those who still had families coming: Priamus, Clarrus, Enid, Claire, and the twins Essyllt and Essylld.

Those accounted for: Dywel, Ermind, Gwenavere, and Dinas.

Those who returned as teenagers or preteens: Gwenavere, Essyllt, Essylld, Claire, Enid, Dinas, Degrevant, and Neurovens.

The rest were still children.

Joy filled the school, at the return of the lost ones, but grief also for those who chose not to live. From the wall Merlin watched quietly on, a bittersweet smile on his lips. "Mr. Merlin?" a voice asked. Merlin turned. Arthur, he saw, approaching him slowly.

"Arthur, hi!" Merlin greeted. "How's every little thing?"

"It's… happening," Arthur replied. Life just kept happening, he guessed. Even when you really would like it to pause a while.

"How are you?" Merlin pressed.

"I'm… overwhelmed. Confused… Struggling," Arthur replied. "But I'm dealing, you know? I just… wanted to say thanks. For everything. You were a really big help fending off the goblins."

"No problem, kid!" Merlin replied cheerfully. Arthur smiled and looked down. There was a celebration happening, he knew. For all those who had been returned. All those who had come out alive… They were gathered together, Worcestershire and Carlion were celebrating… It was beautiful… And painful too… Especially thinking of the ones who could have lived but didn't…

"I feel like I could have done better," Arthur said.

"Everybody feels like that sometimes, kid. Everyone," Merlin said. "You did the best you could. There wasn't anything more you could have done."

"Wasn't there?" Arthur asked.

"Well, there was, but it would have ended in tragedy. Mass executing them wouldn't have exactly spared any of them," Merlin repleid. Arthur snorted, smirking a bit. "How's your… learning with Charming going?"

"Huh? How did you… Never mind. I don't want to know. It's… it's good. He's really helping me a lot more than I thought he would," Arthur replied. "Maybe he's really turned over a new leaf?"

"I don't have all the answers, kid," Merlin said. Well, this one he had the answer to, but what he'd foreseen was subject to change as well, so he wasn't committing to it. Self-fulfilling prophecy and all that.

"Can you at least tell me if he's genuine or fake?" Arthur asked.

"Figuring that out for yourself will be great practice for kingship!" Merlin said. "Sorry Artie. My lips are sealed," Merlin said.

Arthur frowned in annoyance then sighed, looking out again. "I guess… that this was a pretty happy ending, huh?"

"Thanks to you and your heart, Artie," Merlin replied, poking his heart. "You're really growing, kid. Becoming something great… Long as you don't start to fear that or push it away, you'll continue to. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks Merlin," Arthur replied, smiling a bit. Merlin smiled back and the two turned to watch the festivities together in silence.

 **END**


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